Laughing gas plot: Arrests in Rutland and Yorkshire
- Published
Nitrous oxide is commonly inhaled from small cylinders or balloons
Eight people have been arrested on suspicion of importing up to £6m of nitrous oxide for illegal human use.
Five men and three women were held in raids in Rutland and Yorkshire over the alleged plot and money laundering.
Nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas, is used in the medical and catering industry but also as a so-called legal high.
All of those arrested have since been released under investigation.
A man and a woman, both aged 55, were detained in the Ketton area of Rutland, while two women and a man were arrested in Doncaster by the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit.
The unit made a further three arrests in York and Selby.
Breathing the gas can cause dizziness and headaches but, if taken in quantity, can cause suffocation.
The unlawful supply of the gas was made an offence in 2016.
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