Merseyside Police detectives have arrested and charged a local man with drug supply conspiracy offences as part of Operation Venetic.

Yesterday morning, officers attended an address in Barnston and detained a man who was taken to a police station for questioning.

49-year-old Brian Connis of Thorncroft Drive has now been charged with conspiracy to supply Class A and Class B drugs.

Connis was remanded in custody and scheduled to appear at Wirral Adult Remand Court this morning.

The charges are linked to the ongoing national investigation called Operation Venetic.

Operation Venetic is the UK investigation into the EncroChat encrypted messaging platform, and has been described as the country's biggest ever law enforcement operation.