A SERIES of arrests have been made after police and other agencies swooped on an industrial estate.

In a carefully planned operation, police officers were joined by a variety of Bexley Council departments and other agencies in a two-day blitz on the Darent industrial estate in Slade Green.

They uncovered illegal weapons, illegal immigrants, benefit fraudsters, environmental and health and safety breaches and motoring offences.

Four people were arrested, six vehicles were seized, 12 other people are being investigated and more than a dozen notices were served.

Several other people are also being investigated by the Environment Agency for illegal waste collection and disposal.

The closely-packed estate, out on the Crayford Marshes, contains a large number of scrap and car repair yards and a number of haulage and other companies.

Late last year there were three major fires which caused considerable damage and disruption.

The area's policing team and traffic officers were joined by council environmental health and trading standards officers.

London Fire Brigade officers and staff from the Health and Safety Executive, the Environment Agency, the Department for Work and Pensions and officers from the Revenue and Customs and Vehicle Operators Services Agency were also involved.

The operation took place on May 2 and May 3.

Two people were arrested for possession of illegal firearms and two people were arrested on suspicion of being illegal immigrants.

A vehicle checkpoint was set up and six vehicles were seized for being uninsured.

Others were prevented from moving because they were unroadworthy.

A dozen people are now being investigated for possible benefit fraud.

One company was required to carry out immediate work to stem a fuel leak.

The Health and Safety Executive found a number of unsafe working practices and activities.

Four prohibition notices and nine improvement notices were served.

One company was served legal notices under the Clean Air Act and Environmental Protection Act for illegally burning plastic.

And a motorbike believed to be lost or stolen was also recovered.

Two months ago, in the wake of the fires last year, all the companies on the estate were surveyed and invited to briefings about managing the risks of fire and the dangers posed by the many gas cylinders scattered around the estate, which can become "flying bombs" in a fire.

During a major blaze last September, firefighters imposed a 200m exclusion zone and closed the estate for four days because of the danger posed by overheated gas cylinders.

Despite organising a training day for businesses, only a third of them turned up to learn more about how to deal with and store cylinders safely.

An amnesty for unwanted and abandoned cylinders on the estate was more successful and 230 were collected and returned to the manufacturers.

Clive Cain, who heads the council's public protection for the business sector section, said: "Because our primary targets were rogue traders' the exercise had to be conducted without warning any of the businesses."

He added: "Although it will have caused temporary disruption to all the businesses on the estate, we believe this was justified by the long-term benefits to the whole community."