Eight people – including two from St Albans and three from Stevenage – have been arrested during a police operation targeting county lines gangs.

Officers carried out warrants at addresses across Hertfordshire and in London.

Following an arrest in Stevenage on June 20, officers from the dedicated county lines Operation Mantis team searched another Stevenage address, making another arrest on July 2.

Crack cocaine and heroin were seized at both addresses.

After further investigations, four warrants were carried out on Wednesday last week in Borehamwood, St Albans and two London addresses, during which further arrests were made.

Trae Cuff, 24, of Ariel Road, London, and 25-year-old Panashe Madanire of Hawkins Road, London were charged with conspiracy to supply class A drugs and remanded into custody.

Six others were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to supply class A drugs during the operation.

Those arrested were a 22-year-old man and a 59-year-old woman from St Albans, a 30-year-old Stevenage man, two men aged 16 and 22 from Luton and a 24-year-old woman from Borehamwood.

They were all released while investigations continue.

In a separate county lines operation the Stevenage Scorpion team – supported by the Operation Mantis team – arrested an individual during an investigation into a gang supplying crack cocaine and heroin in Stevenage.

A warrant was conducted in Stevenage yesterday, where Hamsa Jama, aged 30, of Down Close, Northolt, was arrested and subsequently charged with being concerned in the supply of class A drugs and under the Proceeds of Crime Act and remanded into custody.

Detective Sergeant Jon Leak, who leads the Op Mantis team, said: “We are constantly working to target those who are involved in county lines drug dealing and other gang activities.

“These gang members do not hesitate to use violence and exploit the vulnerable, often using children to run drugs and taking over the homes of society’s most vulnerable people – known as ‘cuckooing’ – to use it as a base to run their drug dealing operations from.

“Although Hertfordshire does not have a major problem with county lines, it is a problem that has continued to grow across the country and we are determined to prevent it spreading into Hertfordshire.”

You can report information about a crime online at herts.police.uk/report or speak to an operator via our online web chat at herts.police.uk/contact.

You also call the non-emergency number 101.

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