Six people have been charged with drugs offences following arrest warrants carried out in Stevenage, Letchworth and London on Wednesday.

Herts police’s Operation Mantis team, which is dedicated to tackling county lines drug gangs, made the arrests at six addresses.

Jack Dempsey, who is 19 and from Stevenage’s Lines Road, has been charged with conspiracy to supply class A drugs, along with 29-year-old Julian Borja of Dongola Road in London.

They appeared before Hatfield Magistrates’ Court yesterday, where they were remanded in custody. Both will appear at St Albans Crown Court on January 7 next year.

A further four people have also been charged with conspiracy to supply class A drugs, and have been released on bail. They are 19-year-old Jamie Howard of High Avenue in Letchworth, Joseph Speed, 23, from Cresset Road in London’s Hackney, and two teenage boys – aged 15 and 17 who cannot be named for legal reasons – from Stevenage.

They will attend Stevenage Magistrates’ Court on December 27.

A 27-year-old man, who was also arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to supply class A drugs, has been released under investigation while enquiries continue.

Chief Inspector for Stevenage, Alicia Shaw, explained: “I want to reassure local residents that we are committed to tackling the issue of drug related crime in our town.

“We know this can have an extremely detrimental effect on the lives of those who live in the community and this is not acceptable.

“The residents of Stevenage play a key role in providing us with information about gang and drug activity and I would urge anyone who believes this type of crime is happening in their neighbourhood to report it to us.

“Your information will help to build our intelligence picture so that we can take action like we have done this week.”

Stevenage MP Stephen McPartland added: “The police have sent out a strong message that Stevenage is not a soft touch.

“A lot of activity has gone on behind the scenes over many months to break up a number of criminal activities.

“I know it can be frustrating when the public report an issue and feel it is not being dealt with quickly.

“I feel that frustration, but we have to balance that against gathering the intelligence required to tackle these criminals. I am proud of the work the police are currently doing to make Stevenage safe.”

Anyone with information about drug activity in Stevenage is asked to contact Herts police on 101 or report information online at www.herts.police.uk/report.

Alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org.