THIRTEEN men and one woman have appeared in court charged with conspiracy to supply class A controlled drugs following dawn raids in Bolton this week.

They appeared at Wigan Magistrates Court on Friday after drug squad officers swooped on 21 homes in Great Lever on Wednesday. Another man is due in court later. The defendants are: Yaseen Suleman, aged 24, of Shepley Avenue; Tracey Eckstein, aged 32, of Bleak Street; Saeed Khan, aged 23, of Crescent Road; Nasser Hussain, aged 24, of Greenheys Road; Yasar Khan, aged 25, of Alfred Street; Waqar Khan, aged 25, of Roxalina Street; Moheed Khan, aged 26, of Crescent Road; Miroslav Girga, aged 21, of Park Road; Reza Sahampour, aged 41, of Mancroft Avenue; Khalid Yusuf, aged 26, of Higher Swan Lane; Ansa Ayub, aged 19, of Crescent Road; Wasim Iqbal, aged 21 , of Crescent Road; and Amar Khan, aged 20, of Manchester Road.

Three were bailed by magistrates and the rest were remanded in custody.

Suleman Susiwala, aged 20, of Woodgate Street, was due to appear at Bolton Magistrates Court on Saturday charged with the same offence.

The defendants face numerous counts of conspiracy to supply a controlled substance.

They will return to Bolton Magistrates Court on November 18 to enter their pleas.

The raid was the culmination of six months work by detectives. Nearly 200 officers from Bolton police and GMPs Tactical Aid Unit took part in the early morning operation.

Police seized about £10,000 in cash, "a substantial" amount of heroin and a number of vehicles.