TWO East Lancashire men have been jailed for nearly 10 years for their role in a £17million Lancashire-wide drug-dealing ring.

Police seized 30 kilograms of heroin, close to a kilogram of cocaine, 19 kilograms of amphetamine and 25 kilograms of cannabis skunk during dawn raids across the county as part of Operation Nexus.

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In total the gang were jailed for 79 years and seven months.

One of the men arrested as part of the operation was Benjamin Langford, of Cranberry Fold Court, Darwen.

Police said the 28-year-old was found with half a kilogram of cocaine when stopped by officers.

He was jailed for four years by Ms Justice Eccles when he appeared at Preston Crown Court on Friday. He had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply drugs at an earlier hearing.

A second man Amjid Khan, 32, of Grey Street, Burnley, was jailed earlier this year for five years and eight months after pleading guilty to possession with intent to supply heroin.

Police said between September 2014 and September 2015 officers targeted an organised crime group based in Preston.

Members of the gang were seen by officers driving around the city in a Volkswagen Golf, conducting numerous meetings and engaging in the supply of drugs.

Following initial investigations, police linked the gang to an organised crime group operating from the Bolton area, a police spokesman said.

Officers said this group helped to import high-purity drugs into the UK for distribution across the country through a well-established supply chain.

Drugs were then brought into Lancashire by the Bolton members before the drugs were stored and prepared for sale.

As part of the operation, Langford was found to be communicating with the gang ringleaders and was stopped by police with the cocaine, officers said.

Eighteen other gang members were jailed for a combined total of 69 years.

Speaking after the hearing, Insp Simon Brooksbank, said: “We will not tolerate the supply and selling of drugs in our county. I hope that these sentences send out a clear message that we are determined to bring to justice those who are involved in the supply of drugs in our county and beyond and we will continue to tackle organised crime on this scale.”