DRUGS with a street value of £200,000 were seized from a pub near Wantage as part of an international operation led by the Metropolitan Police.

Officers from the force's organised crime group raided premises at The Greyhound pub, in Main Street, Letcombe Regis, near Wantage, and recovered 60kg of cannabis.

Following the raid, two people were arrested. They were interviewed and later released without charge, pending further inquiries.

Det Supt Geoffrey Hunt, senior investigating officer from the organised crime group, said: "The arrests are the result of an extensive investigation by the Metropolitan Police Service into allegations of money laundering and drugs trafficking between the UK and Gibraltar."

Arrests were also made in London and Surrey. Five people, not from the Oxfordshire area, have since been charged with money laundering offences. Thames Valley Police were notified by the Metropolitan police about the raid last Thursday and a number of officers helped to clear the bar, while specially trained sniffer dogs located the drugs.

There were 11 other arrests in other parts of the country and searches were also carried out in London and Gibraltar.

Abingdon-based Morland Brewery, which leases the pub tenancy to a landlord, said: "The matter is in the hands of the police but we are also conducting our own internal investigation."

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