Suspected drug dealers in Stevenage had a rude awakening this morning when police smashed down their doors in a series of dawn raids.

In total six addresses were raided – five in Bedwell and one in Stevenage Old Town – with five people from the town arrested on suspicion of drugs related charges.

Stevenage Chief Insp Richard Harbon said: “We are working with the community. We got some good intelligence that people have been dealing Class A and Class B drugs at these addresses and we have acted upon it to tackle crime and make the area safer for everyone.”

The operation involved more than 40 officers from various police units including the Stevenage Safer Neighbourhood Team and the dog unit.

Bedwell is regarded as one of the most deprived parts of Stevenage and the raids were part of on-going police work aimed at addressing numerous issues in the area including anti-social behaviour and drugs misuse.

The Comet accompanied Insp Simon Tabert from the Stevenage Safer Neighbourhood Team on a raid at a flat in Bedwell where 35 bags of cannabis were found and two people were arrested on suspicion of drugs offences.

He explained that after the raids the police will take a softer approach and try to help people stop committing crime.

He said: “We will contact the landlords of the addresses and tell them that drugs have been found in the house. This won’t normally result in people being evicted but for some people the threat of being kicked out of their house is a lot worse than the threat of going to court.”

In total five people were arrested. This included three men aged 20, 21 and 36 who were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to supply class A drugs and money laundering.

A 22-year-old man was also arrested on suspicion of intent to supply cannabis and class A drugs, while an 18-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of intent to supply cannabis.

A 44-year-old woman from Stevenage received a warning over cannabis use.

Sgt Alison Hutchin works in Bedwell and said: “The arrest phase of this operation was just the start of a weekend of neighbourhood policing work. The local PCSOs have visited around 300 addresses in the area to engage with the local residents to offer advice and support. Those residents were invited to meet officers for a ‘walk about’ on the Sunday so that their concerns can be visually highlighted to the team.”

She added: “This is part of a cycle of events aimed at improving the quality of life for residents and people who use the facilities in the area. It also sends a message to those who make a choice to commit crime that their behaviour will not be tolerated.”

Anyone with information about illegal drug dealing should contact Herts police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.