Three men from Essex have appeared in court today (Wednesday) following a series of regional raids targeting drug suppliers.

Officers from the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU), assisted by officers from local forces, carried out 12 warrants across Essex, north London and Hertfordshire at 5am yesterday.

In Essex two men aged 22 and 29 in Braintree, a 27-year-old man in Rayne and a Great Dunmow man, aged 30, were arrested during the raids.

They were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to supply controlled drugs.

Thomas Aldridge, 30, of Woodlands Park Drive, Great Dunmow, Luke Jewitt, 29, of Chapel Hill, and Ndreim Muliu, 22, of Cressing Road, both Braintree were charged with conspiracy to supply cocaine drugs (cocaine), along with Robert Strachan, 36, of Holbrooke Court, Holloway and Darren Mullarkey, 24, of Earlsferry Way, Barnsbury.

Aldridge is also charged with being concerned in the importation of class B drugs, while Muliu has been charged with two offences contrary to the Identity Documents Act 2010.

All five appeared at Hatfield Magistrates’ Court this morning (Wednesday).

The Rayne man has been released without charge.

The raids follow three large drug hauls uncovered in Essex last year.

Seizures were made on September 30 when 1kg of cocaine was found in a vehicle on the A120 at Braintree, with a further 2kg found in two cars in Great Dunmow on November 20, while 3.7 tonnes of cannabis were seized in Chelmsford on October 10.

The total value of the drugs is estimated at £4.6million for the cannabis and £720,000 for the cocaine.