A national intensification week targeting County Lines and its associated criminality took place between Monday 25 - Sunday December 2nd.

Last week, officers across the country once again stood united with partners in the fight against County Lines and organised drug supply.

Police forces and Regional Organised Crime Units took part in a national coordinated operation, reaffirming their commitment to tackling county line exploitation criminality.

County Lines sees ruthless dealers expanding their illicit operations through dedicated mobile phone lines, known as deal lines, which sell highly addictive substances.

To maintain their illegal activity, criminals often exploit children and young people by grooming them into becoming drug mules, threatening violence, and intimidating them to keep them trapped.

You can find the results from each region below:

 

East Midlands:

Across Derbyshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, and Lincolnshire, early totals bought the following headlines:

• 56 vulnerable individuals engaged with and safeguarded, 

• 110 arrests,

• Over £70,000 worth of class A drugs seized, in addition to over £1m worth of cannabis*

• £38,000+ in cash seized*

• 15 deal lines closed

• 47 weapons (non-firearms) and nine firearms seized,

• Over 277,000 people spoken to through mass engagement events, 

• Five further referrals, 

• 67 cuckoo visits.

*Some drugs/cash are still being weighed and counted so these totals are conservative.

Regional Vulnerabilities Coordinator, Stu Jones, said: "There is so much more to County Lines than just making arrests, and this is reflected in our results.

"Throughout the week, teams worked in collaboration with other forces and partners to safeguard people, engage with others, and take dangerous weapons off of our streets.

"Our work doesn't end just because the intensification period has. We will continue to pursue the criminals exploiting the most vulnerable."

 

North East:

We are resilient, we are robust and we are relentless.

NEROCU officers, Northumbria Police, Cleveland Police and Durham Constabulary were joined by partners to carry out several targeted operations across the region to safeguard vulnerable victims, shut down drug lines and educate young people around the dangers of becoming involved with drugs.

Across the North East alone, the intensification week saw:

🚫 8 deal lines shutdown
🚓 82 people arrested.
💙 58 vulnerable people safeguarded
🏠 10 cuckoo visits

The region-wide activity saw large quantities of Class A and B drugs seized, including cocaine, heroin and cannabis – with warrants also resulting in the seizure of large quantities of cash and weapons including a musket, crossbows, zombie knives and machetes.

NEROCU Regional County Lines Co-ordinator Ian Randell, has commended the dedication of officers and staff working in the North East to continue to be at the forefront of tackling County Lines and the exploitation linked to it.

He said: “The message from this intensification period is clear - we are resilient, we are robust and we are relentless.

“These great results are just the latest in a long line of successful operations throughout the year focusing on tackling County Lines.

“I want to thank the outstanding partners we work with who help build intelligence, shut down deal lines, arrest suspects, educate young and vulnerable people and protect those being exploited.

“Under the banner of Operation Sentinel, our dedicated regional initiative to tackling serious and organised crime, we will continue to work with partners and pursue offenders, shut down their lines, and work with young people and those who have been impacted by this abhorrent crime.”

 

South East:

As part of coordinated national action for County Lines Intensification Week, officers from the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (SEROCU) worked with HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) to tackle the supply of drugs into prisons.

Between Monday 25 November and Sunday 1 December, officers visited prisons across the south east including HMP Bullingdon, HMP Lewes, HMP Winchester and HMP Highdown.

Amnesty bins were made available to visitors, giving them the opportunity to dispose of any prohibited items that were intended to be smuggled into the prison.

Officers from Thames Valley Police, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary, Surrey Police and Sussex Police were also in attendance to carry out searches.

In total officers engaged with 26 visitors and carried out 13 searches.

A spokesperson from the South East Regional Prison Intelligence Team (SERPIT) said: “This is a fantastic example of the collaboration that takes place across policing and HMPPS to prevent prohibited items, particularly drugs, from entering prisons.

“We have a shared goal of tackling this crime and will continue to identify opportunities to work together.

“If you have information about drug supply, you can report it to your local force via 101 or online. You can also make reports anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers by calling 0800 555 111 or via its website.”

You can read about the successes of our forces on their websites: Hampshire and Isle of Wight Contabulary, Sussex Police, Surrey Police and Thames Valley Police.

 

South West:

The South West Regional Organised Crime Unit supported its five regional police forces (Avon and Somerset, Devon and Cornwall, Dorset, Gloucestershie, and Wiltshire) in delivering the following results: 

• 95 people arrested
• £47,863 cash seized
• 37kg of cannabis, plus 564 cannabis plants seized
• 3.7kg of cocaine seized
• 107 people were safeguarded, including 32 children

 

South Wales (Tarian):

From South Wales Police, Gwent Police, Dyfed-Powys Police.

• Lines dismantled - 12
• Adults safeguarded – 3
• Under 18s safeguarded – 8
• Adult engagement inputs – 73 attendees
• Under 19s engagement inputs – 31 attendees
• NRM referrals – 3
• Cuckooed addresses visited – 26
• Adults arrested – 41
• Under 18s arrested – 6
• Crack seized (grams) 90.48
• Heroin seized (grams) 179.64
• Cocaine seized (grams) 453.3
• Cannabis seized (plants) 75

Also seized: cannabis edibles, snap bags of cannabis, 40 MDMA tablets, 33g amphetamine, £57,775.14 cash, an imitation firearm, num-chuks, an axe, a crossbow, and 6 knives.

Detective Inspector Richard Weber, of Tarian ROCU, said “The threat posed by County Lines is persistent in the southern Wales but by collaborating with police forces and key partners across the region we are making a difference. During the most recent County Lines Intensification Week we worked with colleagues from London, Merseyside and the British Transport Police as well as partners that included Transport for Wales, The Children’s Society, retailers, hoteliers, housing providers, schools, Health, and Local Authorities.

"During the week we dismantled 12 drugs lines,  arrested 47 people and seized significant quantities of drugs and weapons as well as seizing cash and assets to ensure that crime doesn’t pay. We raised awareness of the threat by providing over 100 inputs to a variety of audiences and looking forward to further gaining the trust of our communities. We visited and supported numerous people vulnerable to criminal exploitation through cuckooing and have enhanced our future response with partners.

"Our actions during the week will bring offenders to justice and safeguard our communities. The role of the wider public is vital in countering the threat and we encourage those with information to let us know of their concerns so that we might combat what is often described as hidden harm.”

 

West Midlands:

The Regional Organised Crime Unit for the West Midlands Region (ROCUWM) supported its four constituent forces – Staffordshire Police, Warwickshire Police, West Merica Police and West Midlands Police. Results include:

• 8 Deal lines seized
• 210 arrests
• 55 weapons seized - 33 knives and 12 swords
• Firearms seized - 1 taser and 17 imitation firearms
• £63,198 cash
• 178.5g crack cocaine
• 941.6g cocaine
• 236.05g heroine
• 4452 cannabis plants
• 4447.5g cannabis bud
• 185 cucooked addressess visited
• 61 adults safeguarded
• 134 children safeguarded 

 

Yorkshire and Humber:

The Yorkshire and Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit supported its four constituent forces – Humberside Police, North Yorkshire Police, South Yorkshire Police and West Yorkshire Police. Results include:

• Class A drugs with an estimated value of over £475,000 seized
• 106 people arrested (including 12 under 18s)
• £67,262 cash seized
• 207 people safeguarded (105 males/102 females)
• 13 deal lines seized
• 44 Cuckooed addresses visited
• Six vehicles seized
• One million counterfeit cigarettes seized
• Weapons including knives and two firearms seized
• Care home visits
• School inputs
• Training for officers and staff
• Community engagement

 

North West

The North West Regional Organised Crime Unit supported its six regional police forces (Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, and North Wales) in delivering the following results: 

• 294 arrested
• 289 people safeguarded
• Approximately £900,000 cash seized
• 77 weapons seized
• 21kg of Class A drugs seized (Crack, Heroin and Cocaine)
• 8240 wraps of Class A drugs seized
• 478 Cannabis plants seized.

NWROCU Regional County Lines Co-ordinator, Detective Inspector Adam Norton said:

“Exploitation, coercion, and violence are central to the county lines trade. Gangs often trap young and vulnerable people in debt, forcing them to transport drugs across the country.

“We work tirelessly with forces across the North West to combat county lines all year-round, strengthening our regional response to these drug-dealing gangs, and will continue to do so.

“Last week we launched #EyesOpen – a regional campaign to educating our communities about the deceptive tactics used by criminal gangs and empowering parents, carers, and everyone else who encounters young people to recognise and combat these threats."

You can find out more about how you can help here Eyes-open.co.uk