National results from County Lines Intensification Week

A national intensification week targeting County Lines and its associated criminality took place between Monday March 2nd and Sunday March 8th.

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:

NEROCU

The North East Regional Organised Crime Unit supported its three constituent forces – Cleveland Police, Durham Constabulary and Northumbria Police. Results include:

• 84 Arrests
• 12 Deal Lines shutdown
• 16 People safeguarded
• 19 Weapons seized
• Over £120K in cash seized
• Multiple community engagement events
• Schools engagements with staff and pupils
• Several business engagements

*These totals are conservative as some drugs/cash are still being weighed and counted.

NEROCU Regional County Lines Co-Ordinator Ian Randell said: “This is just one example of the ongoing targeted activity carried out by police and partners throughout the year to tackle County Lines and protect all those impacted.

“We remain dedicated to tackling County Lines and we will not stop in our pursuit of organised criminals looking to hurt our communities with drug supply.

“The action we take is targeting those criminals who operate at a distance controlling and exploiting the young and vulnerable to undertake the storage and movement of cash and drugs often in violent and threatening circumstances.

“As always this type of intensification can’t be done without the excellent work of partners coming together as a united front and I want to thank everyone involved.

“This type of criminal network targets the most vulnerable members of our communities which is why we will not stop in our efforts to protect those at risk of being exploited by these criminal networks and I urge anyone with any information to report it.”

Yorkshire and Humber

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

• 85 people safeguarded (63 males and 22 females)
• Seven deal lines seized
• 98 people arrested (including nine under-18s) 
• Class A drugs with an estimated value of more than £43,000 seized
• 7,400 cannabis plants seized
• More than £240,000 cash recovered
• 50 cuckooed addresses visited
• 19 weapons seized including a firearm and seven knive
• 10 vehicles seized
• Community engagement events
• Schools engagements with staff and pupils
• Multiple business engagements
• Care home visits

YHROCU Regional County Lines Co-ordinator, Inspector Emma Summerscales said: “We remain absolutely committed to doing everything we can to target the harm caused in our communities by criminal gangs involved in county lines drug dealing.

“This latest period of intensification has seen a range of work being coordinated by YHROCU across the region’s four force areas. This has included targeted enforcement to shut down drugs lines and bring offenders to justice, as well as work with partner agencies to raise awareness and to identify and safeguard those vulnerable to exploitation.

“These combined efforts continue to make a significant impact on this destructive and exploitative criminal trade, and we hope the positive results from this latest increased focus will provide some reassurance to local communities and send a clear message to those who cause harm in this way.”

East Midlands

Across Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire and Nottinghamshire:

• 137 vulnerable individuals were safeguarded
• 96 people were arrested
• 106 cuckooed addresses were visited and four NRM referrals were made
• Three deal lines were closed
• 24 weapons, nine firearms and more than £20,000 in cash were seized
• A significant amount of class A drugs and several kilograms of cannabis were seized
• Large amounts of illicit shisha, tobacco and vapes were recovered
• More than 2.3 million people were spoken to through mass engagement campaigns

*These totals are conservative as some drugs/cash are still being weighed and counted.

EMSOU’s Regional Vulnerabilities Coordinator Stu Jones said: “County Lines gangs ruin lives but the role of the police is about much more than arresting offenders.

“By tackling the root cause we have safeguarded people who had been trapped in a dangerous cycle of crime, closed lines being used to sell drugs and taken dangerous weapons off our streets.

“Our work doesn’t stop and we will continue to work tirelessly all year-round to keep people in the East Midlands safe and pursue those behind these abhorrent crimes.”

SWROCU

Across the week almost a hundred people have been arrested across the South West:

• 59 people were safeguarded
• 92 people were arrested
• £54,915 cash was seized
• More than £446,000 worth of drugs were seized
• 29 weapons seized including a knuckleduster, two batons and 6 imitation firearms
• Inputs to schools and hotel staff on County Lines and Child Criminal Exploitation
• Targeted Tik Tok and Snapchat advertising campaign

TARIAN

Tarian Regional Organised Crime Unit supported its three constituent forces - South Wales Police, Gwent Police, and Dyfed-Powys Police. Results included: 

• 70 individuals safeguarded (37 males and 33 females)
• 101 individuals arrested 
• 34 cuckooed addresses visited 
• 13 deal lines seized 
• Over £70,000 in cash seized
•  A significant amount of Class A drugs seized
• 27 weapons seized including knives and imitation firearms 
• 72 mobile phones seized 
• 7 vehicles seized 
• Community engagement events and neighborhood patrols 
• School and college engagements 
• Partnership working with housing associations

Regional Tactical County Lines Coordinator, Richard Weber, said: "These results are the product of impressive and dedicated work by the three forces of southern Wales. These figures are some of the highest we have seen for an intensification period, and only scratch the surface of what has been achieved. Tarian ROCU, South Wales Police, Gwent Police, and Dyfed-Powys Police are committed to tackling the threat posed by serious and organised crime, and will continue to pursue offenders and safeguard victims." 

NWROCU

Across the North West, the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit along with our six North West forces, has been endlessly distrupting those that come to bring harm to our communities. Results include:

• 423 people arrested linked to county lines offences
• 167 people safeguarded with 68 being under the age of 18
• 116 addresses were visited suspected of cuckooing
• Class A drugs worth over £290,000 were seized
• Class B drugs worth over £27,000 were seized along with 1588 cannabis plants destroyed
• Over £240,000 in cash seized
• 77 weapons including 53 knives were seized
• 23 firearms including shotguns, handguns and rifles were also seized.

Drugs gangs are grooming kids and vulnerable adults across the UK. You can spot grooming in a number of different ways. Sometimes you may just get a feeling that something is not quite right. Report it.

Find out more here - County Lines - Spot The Signs | Eyes Open

ERSOU

Results from across forces in eastern England included:

• 60 deal lines seized & 140 phones
• 26 people being safeguarded
• 209 arrests for drugs and weapons offences, among others
• 139 deal-size wraps of crack cocaine seized
• Heroin worth more than £133,000 seized
• 430 cannabis plants seized
• Two litres of GHB, commonly referred to as the ‘date rape drug’ seized
• 35 bladed weapons including samurai swords and machetes seized
• Six firearms and imitation firearms seized

Detective Inspector Kelly Gray, ERSOU ROCU’s County Lines Coordinator, said: “Forces and partner agencies across the east continue to work collaboratively to target those behind county lines criminality in our communities.

“Not only have offenders been apprehended, vulnerable people safeguarded, and drugs and weapons taken under police control, but the intelligence we’ve gathered will also help inform further enquiries over the weeks and months ahead.”

How you can help

If you see something that doesn’t look right or know of any vulnerable people who may be involved in County Lines, please get in touch with your local police and help protect them. 

Alternatively, if you have concerns or information, you can call the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 111 555 or visit their website.