Firearms, counterfeit notes, cloned credit cards and £1 million of Drugs have been seized in the county's biggest-ever offensive against organised crime lords.

Special arrest squads swooped in Bradford at the end of an 18-month top secret operation targeting the leaders of underworld organisations and networks.

Working under the codename Operation Primary, undercover officers gathered intelligence on criminal groups distributing drugs and guns.

Their work culminated in about 40 raids - many carried out by armed officers - taking place in the last two days on homes, businesses and nightclubs in Bradford, Keighley, Leeds and Huddersfield.

Senior police officers ordered the operation after growing increasingly alarmed over a string of shootings and murders between large-scale drug-runners.

Detective Superintendent Howard Crowther, who headed the team, said 24 people had been arrested so far, 22 of whom were still being questioned at various police stations across the county.

He said the seizures included:

More than £1 million of class A drugs including heroin and cocaine.

A number of firearms including handguns and sawn-off shotguns.

Live ammunition including .375 Magnum bullets and a 100,000 watt 'stun gun'.

Thousands of pounds of counterfeit English currency and a quantity of Euros stolen during armed robberies.

Cloned credit cards involved in potentially £1 million of national and international fraud.

Stolen vehicles taken in burglaries and robberies from across the UK.

Det Supt Crowther said work would now begin on seizing the assets of the major players including homes, investment portfolios, land and businesses.

Phillip Brear, West Yorkshire Police's Acting Chief Constable, said: "This is an extremely significant operation designed to strike at the heart of street crime in West Yorkshire.

"Months of meticulous planning have gone into this week's arrests."

And he added: "We have a strong determination to tackle street crime from street level right up to those who organise criminal activity at a higher level.

"This is professional policing at its very best."

He said that officers from the Major Crime Unit, Drugs Squad and Fraud Squad would continue their investigations over the coming weeks and months.