Eleven people have been charged after Met Police reportedly seized UK’s “largest ever haul” of synthetic opioids.

Officers working with UK Border Agency raided several addresses in Waltham Forest and Enfield on October 24.

It was part of a national UK law enforcement effort to investigate the increase in synthetic opioid products being adulterated into the drugs supply network.

About 150,000 tablets of Nitazene, a synthetic opioid, was recovered in Waltham Forest in a sophisticated factory set up, Met Police said.

Other items said to be seized included “substantial amount” of other Class A and B drugs, a firearm, a pill pressing machine, over £60,000 in cash and £8,000 in cryptocurrency stored in various hard drives.

Officers also found “large quantity” of mobile phones and laptops at the locations.

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Met Police suspects the drugs were sold via the Dark Web, using encrypted chat applications and social media.

Eleven people were arrested between August 21 and November 21, and all of them have since been charged with conspiracy to supply class A and B drugs.

Detective Superintendent Helen Rance, who led the investigation, said the synthetic opioids were detected in batches of heroin in London and across the UK.

The opioids, she added, raise the risk of “incredibly serious harm” to the user and are believed to be linked to several deaths.

She said: “We are working closely with partners to monitor and proactively tackle this issue, provide advice and remove the availability of these dangerous drugs from our streets.”

She highlighted the public health advice that illegal drugs should not be consumed and said there are support services available for people in need.

Anyone wanting to provide information, seek advice or request help can contact their Local Drug Information System (LDIS) or www.talktofrank.com or dial the FRANK helpline on 0800 77 66 00.