Eight people have been charged with a series of dawn raids across Essex and London on Thursday.

The raids were carried in Clacton, London, Colchester and Braintree as part of a seven-month-long investigation into county lines drugs gangs.

In total 14 people were arrested while suspected Class A drugs, cash, and a stun gun were seized.

Essex Police have now charged eight people with conspiracy to commit Class A drugs;

-Kenneth Blinkho, 30, of Dudley Road, Clacton;

-Daron Noel, 42, of Lundhurst Road, Holland-on-Sea;

- Owen Carter, 18, of Tony Rawson Way, Dagenham;

- Tony Dove, 35, of Elm Grove, Clacton;

- Richard Mensah, 30, of South Countess Road, Walthamstow;

- Kwame Banahene, 23, of John Ruskin Street, London SE5;

- Tim Miller, 44, of Wellesley Road, Clacton;

- Timothea Hutchinson, 42, of London Road, Clacton

Blinkho, Noel, Carter, and Dove were all due to appear at Colchester Magistrates' on Friday, February 7.

Mensah, Banahene, Miller, and Hutchinson are all due to appear at the same court on Saturday, February 8.

Three people - a man and two women - have been released under investigation.

Another man and a woman have been released on bail until March 4. A further woman has been released on bail until March 2.