FOUR men arrested during a series of police dawn raids have claimed they were not criminals but victims of modern slavery.

Dozens of police officers were scrambled to a series of addresses in Clacton, London, Colchester and Braintree last month.

Specialist teams forced entry into properties and seized a large amount of cash, Class A drugs and a stun gun.

In total 14 people were arrested.

Four of them - Kenneth Blinkho, 30, of Dudley Road, Clacton; Daron Noel, 42, of Lyndhurst Road, Holland-on-Sea; Owen Carter, 18, of Tony Rawson Way, Dagenham; and Tony Dove, 35, of Elm Grove, Clacton, appeared at Ipswich Crown Court on Friday, March 6.

Each were due to enter pleas to drug dealing charges but the court heard all of them were making applications under Section 45 of the Modern Slavery Act. This offers people a statutory defence to allegations if it is proved they have been trafficked or were acting under duress.

All four are alleged to have sold drugs to an undercover police officer in Clacton on various occasions late last year and early this year.

Blinkho is facing three charges of drug supply involving crack and heroin, Noel faces five charges, Carter, three and Dover, four.

A trial date has been provisionally scheduled for June 29.

It is expected to last a week if it goes ahead.

Addressing the defendants at Ipswich Crown Court, Judge Martyn Levett said: “You are required to provide a defence case statement.

“If you refuse to, the judge will receive a notification and you may forfeit your right to give evidence.”

A hearing has been scheduled for April 29 when the application is expected to have been decided.

Essex Police had been working on Operation Cheta for seven months before the co-ordinated raids in February.

Officers said they believe their work has already taken out one drug gang.

They explained they hoped the raids would result in another two out-of-town drug supply operations being demolished.