Police in Hastings launched a series of swoops on suspected drug dealers early today.

More than 80 officers and four dogs were involved in the raids which concentrated on outstanding warrants and suspected drug dealers. From 8am, teams of officers visited homes throughout the town centre, surprising suspected criminals.

About 40 warrants had been served by 9.30am and nine people were taken into custody and three bailed. The operation resulted from months of intelligence-gathering by officers.

A spokesman said: "The time has come to make people realise we are here and are not going to tolerate crimes being committed in this area."

The operation, codenamed Operation Muster, continued into the afternoon with officers in riot gear bashing down doors to apprehend suspects.

Inspector Chris Wratten said today's operation was about clearing the backlog of cases which police do not always have sufficient resource to deal with.

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