Police tackled a man armed with a knife as they raided three houses in Croydon as part of a drugs bust operation on Wednesday afternoon.

The man dropped the weapon as officers stormed the premises in Flagon Court, St Andrew’s Road this afternoon at about 4pm.

About 27 officers took part in the raid, which was part of Croydon Police’s Operation Target and was based on information from the local community.

Two men in their 40s were arrested for drug possession and a number of bags of drugs were found at the property.

DCI Jane Corrigan of the proactive policing and serious acquisitive crime unit said: “We worked with the community as well as officer intelligence in relation to the location.

“It sends a message that we actively pursuing offenders.

“Most people expect dawn raids so to do it at this time keeps people guessing.”

Special “Ghostbusters” forces were deployed to ensure quick access to the houses and a drug sniffer dog was deployed.

Officers recovered what is believed to be class-b drugs, and other drugs paraphernalia during the raid.