A man has been charged as part of a police investigation into the death of two people in Basildon.

That investigation was launched after the deaths, on Tuesday 13 June, were linked to drug use.

As a result of initial enquiries, police believed the drugs which had been taken contained etonitazene, a synthetic opioid of similar or higher toxicity to fentanyl.

As a result of quick and thorough work, officers from the Essex force's Op Raptor South team identified a drugs line of interest.

One man was arrested on Wednesday and questioned.

Ahmed Khelifi, 39, of Gower Chase, Basildon, has now been charged with two counts of being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs and two counts of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs.

He was due to appear in Southend Magistrates' Court today, Friday 16 June.

A second person, a man, has also been arrested as part of this investigation. He remains in custody for questioning.

Detective Superintendent Gary Biddle said: "I would like to stress that, at this stage, we are treating this as an isolated, tragic incident.

"Our officers have worked incredibly quickly to identify a drugs line of interest in this investigation, make arrests and ultimately secure a charge.

"Our units work incredibly hard to disrupt and dismantle drug networks across Essex and we will always pursue those people who we believe to be causing the highest harm in our communities."