DRUG squad officers have arrested ten people following a three-day series of swoops.

Over the past 72 hours drug squad officers have raided 14 addresses throughout Blackburn as part of Operation Weed.

And today further raids were taking place involving another dozen homes.

Police recovered a quantity of drugs including heroin, amphetamines, cocaine, ecstasy, cannabis and other chemical accelerants.

Some of the arrested have been bailed as forensic science tests are carried out on the drugs. Others have been cautioned.

Operation Weed was launched following a number of tip-offs from the public. Acting Detective Inspector Martin Worden said: "It's been a great success so far. The people of Blackburn need to know that when they pass information on to us we will always use it.

"We never expected to recover huge amounts of drugs and we are extremely happy with what we found."

Shocked police found 19 rats wandering in one house.

A doctor's crash kit, including an intravenous drip, was recovered from another. A variety of property believed to have been stolen was also seized.

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