Detectives probing an international drug smuggling operation thought to be rooted in Merseyside have arrested a seventh suspect.
Officers swooped on an address in Warrington, taking a 55-year-old man into custody for questioning.
The arrest was the latest development in a probe that led to luxury vehicles, Rolex watches and cash being seized in June.
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The drug trafficking and money laundering investigation led officers from the National Crime Agency to the Warrington property this morning.
With the support of the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit, they arrested the man on suspicion of conspiracy to supply and import controlled drugs, conspiracy to launder money, and participating in the activities of an organised crime group.
His arrest follows those of five men and a woman in raids on Wirral, Wallasey and Deeside on June 18. All six are on bail.
That strike day saw a Mercedes Benz, Land Rover, two Rolex watches and £5,000 recovered by search teams.
The investigation was prompted by three seizures of a combined total of 111kg of cocaine and heroin - worth around £9m at street level - at Dover and in the Netherlands.
Detectives suspect the gang used legitimate haulage companies to move generators from the UK to Belgium and the Netherlands.
They then arranged for the generators to be transported back to the UK with cocaine and heroin concealed inside.
Paul Williamson, the NCA's Regional Head of Investigations, said: “Today’s arrest shows that we are relentless in our pursuit of organised criminals who dominate and intimidate communities as part of their drug trafficking activities.
“We suspect this individual is a member of an organised crime group that has imported drugs on numerous occasions for distribution to criminal associates across the country.”
