Four teenagers among county lines drug dealing arrests in Harrogate

Four teenagers and two men who hid drugs in a pizza box are among nine people who've been arrested as part of an operation to crackdown on county lines drug dealing.

Police are continuing to crackdown on crimes in Harrogate and the Dales which often exploit vulnerable people.

County lines drug dealing is when drug dealers in cities and larger towns put pressure on vulnerable people and children to sell in smaller villages.

Officers say they've visited more than 70 people across February and March- who are often drug users who don't recognise that they themselves are victims.

During one visit, officers arrested four teenagers from Leeds, aged 16-17, who were staying with a vulnerable person in Harrogate.

It's known as "cuckooing"- which is where runners stay with someone whilst they're out of town, selling drugs in quieter areas.

One of the boys has been charged with possessing heroin and crack cocaine with intent to supply, and the other three have been released on police bail

Police say they also found cocaine and MDMA hidden in a pizza box after stopping two men who were travelling from Leeds to Harrogate.

Another man from Southampton was also stopped, and police found cash and drugs in his car.

Detective Sergeant Marcus Dawson of Harrogate-based Operation Expedite, North Yorkshire Police’s dedicated county lines team, said: "The safeguarding of vulnerable people continues to be a key focus of our work and these nationally funded days of action are very welcome".

"They also give us an opportunity the gather more intelligence about drug dealing, information that then goes on to inform more operational activity in the future."