Three men are in custody being quizzed about an alleged drugs den discovered by police in Oxford.

Officers raided a house on Botley Road yesterday afternoon in what police described as an intelligence-led operation.

Police arrested three men aged 30 and 36 at the scene and arrested a 32-year-old man soon after.

They are all being quizzed by police after officers discovered what they believed to be crack cocaine, heroin and a number of stolen items including laptops, digital cameras, work tools and a bicycle.

Pc Steve Mather, of the Oxford City Centre Unit who led the operation, said: "Osney and the Botley Road have not historically been a problem area for drugs, but lately there has been an increase in drug users and dealers operating in the area.

"Needles have been found on a daily basis in nearby parks, there have been incidents of anti-social behaviour and a number of drugs overdoses reported, thankfully none of them fatal.

"Our intelligence suggested the property we raided was directly connected to these problems and we acted quickly with this warrant. We hope this action will significantly reduce or even totally remove these issues from the Botley Road area.

"Drugs lead directly to other crimes being committed. We hope this will also lead to a reduction in the likes of burglary and auto-crime in Oxford."