FOUR people are facing drugs charges after more than 3kg of heroin was found in the Fens.

Sarah-Jane Higginson, 36, of Silt Road, Nordelph, and her brother, Paul Higginson, 38, of Begdale Road, Elm, were remanded at King’s Lynn Magistrates’ Court on Friday.

The pair, who are charged with conspiracy to supply heroin and money laundering, will appear at Norwich Crown Court on July 27.

Paul Ward, 43, of Silt Road, Nordelph, appeared at Norwich Magistrates’ Court on Saturday charged with conspiracy to supply heroin, money laundering and possession of criminal property. He was remanded and will appear at Norwich Crown Court on July 27.

Louise Mould, 32, of Church Lane, Crowland, has been charged with possession of heroin. She will appear at Spalding Magistrates’ Court on July 31.

Seven other people have been arrested and bailed following a series of police raids in Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire and West Yorkshire on Thursday.

Officers from the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit searched 11 sites as part of Operation Leap - an investigation into money laundering and drug trafficking.

About 1kg of heroin was discovered at a site in Elm, before another 2.5kg of the Class A drug was found, together with a substantial amount of cash, in Nordelph.

Det Insp Liz Fernandes, who is leading Operation Leap, said: “This has been an excellent example of how coordinated activity across several police forces can make a real difference to local communities.”

ERSOU was set up in 2010 to tackle organised crime across the six police forces in the Eastern region. The unit is made up of resources from across Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk.

Det Supt Mark Lay, from ERSOU, said: “This is an excellent result for ERSOU which is the culmination of working with our colleagues from police forces across the country.”

Sites in Spalding, Crowland and a business premises in Wisbech were also raided as part of Thursday’s operation.

Property seized in West Yorkshire included a firearm, several thousand pounds in cash and a number of expensive cars including a Nissan GR-T and a Mercedes.