A 55-year-old man from Smallford, near St Albans, has been arrested after police in Stevenage found 350kg of cannabis in his van - worth an estimated £3.5m on the street.

Simon Stone, from Smallford, was driving the vehicle on the A1(M) past Stevenage on Thursday, July 20, when he was stopped by police officers.

Officers from Hertfordshire Constabulary's Mobile Support Team were on the scene after receiving an alert earlier the same day that ANPR cameras had detected a van with suspected links to drug-dealing entering Hertfordshire.

They arrested Stone, who has since been charged with possession with intent to supply class B drugs (cannabis), possession of class A drugs (cocaine), and driving offences.

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He has been remanded into custody at Hatfield magistrates court.

Following the incident, Detective Sergeant Grant Finnie, from Hertfordshire Constabulary’s Serious Crime Investigation Team, said: “This was a great result following a proactive stop check by our Mobile Support Team officers.

"We’re committed to keeping drugs off our streets and we have the capacity to disrupt drug supply networks coming into the county from neighbouring areas.”