POLICE believe they have seized thousands of pounds worth of stolen goods after a series of raids across Oxford.

Officers began the "strike phase" of Operation Bridgetown at 6am yesterday, mounting dawn raids on homes across the city and arresting 22 people.

Electrical items, including laptop computers, mobile phones, digital cameras and computer equipment were seized by about 100 police officers. Substances believed to be Class-A drugs were also seized.

Police arrested 22 people on suspicion of immigration offences, conspiracy to handle stolen goods and drugs offences.

They worked alongside HM Revenue and Customs, immigration, and trading standards officers as they raided properties. They could not reveal the locations of the homes they raided.

Det Insp Simon Morton, of Oxford CID, said the aim was to remove the market for burglars to sell the items they steal.

He said: "What we are trying to do here is reduce the ability of the burglar to get rid of their property by taking out the handlers."

He said police took a three-month snapshot' during which 226 burglaries happened in the city.

"The most common commodity stolen are laptops and one to two are stolen in the city every day," he said.

"They are instantly transferable into money if you know the right place to go."

The seized property was placed in bags ready to be finger-printed.

Mr Morton said: "The property we have here is only about ten to 15 per cent of what was seized.

"Suffice to say we have a significant number of laptops from dwelling burglaries.

"We have got a lot of work to do identifying property and we are hoping the people in custody will assist us with that.

"Our intention is to make it as hard as possible for the burglar to survive. We want to make their lives hell, which is how they make their victims feel.

"We have also seized accounting books and bank details and, as I speak, we still have property coming in.

"We have found drugs as well. They still have to be examined but all the indications are that they are Class-A."

He said it was too early to say whether an organised gang was behind the storage of the stolen goods.