Burnley man in custody and three Nelson men charged as part of major East Lancashire drugs investigation

The charges are part of a cross-border drug supply investigation, believed to be based in the east of the county.

Yesterday a series of warrants were executed at addresses in Burnley and Pendle and four people were detained on suspicion of conspiracy to supply class A and class B drugs.

The three people charged are: Michael Rennie ( 38) of Whitehough Place, Michael Masih (43) of Waidshouse Road and Christopher Paul (33) of Barkerhouse Road.

They have all been charged with conspiracy to supply a Class A controlled drug and conspiracy to supply a Class B controlled drug. They are due to appear at Blackburn Magistrates' Court today.

A 52-year-old man from Burnley, who was also arrested yesterday, remains in custody.

So far, as part of the investigation, police have recovered significant amounts of cocaine, ketamine and cannabis, as well as other drug paraphernalia.

During yesterday’s warrants they also seized mobile phones, cash and a quantity of drugs.

DI Tom Edmondson, of East CID, said: “Yesterday we made four arrests following warrants at addresses in the east of the county. The activity was carried out as part of ongoing efforts to disrupt organised criminal gangs operating in the county.

“Three people have now been charged and a fourth man remains in custody while enquiries are ongoing.

“As always we want to remind people that we rely on community intelligence about drug dealing and supply, and we continue to urge anybody with information about it to get in touch.”

Anybody with information should call 101 or report it online at https://orlo.uk/Saim6