43 people arrested in County Lines crackdown involving Merseyside Police
Police on Merseyside worked with colleagues in North East Lincolnshire to tackle drug dealing
Last updated 16th Jun 2023
43 people have been arrested as part of a joint police operation to tackle drug dealing, involving officers from the Merseyside and Humberside forces.
Officers targeted a number of locations in Lincolnshire, seizing around £5,000 in cash as well as mobile phones and Class A and B drugs.
43 people were arrested on June 13 and 14, 16 of whom have since been charged.
A number of 'county lines', which are used to move drugs between places like Merseyside and the rest of the UK, were shut down as a result of the raids.
Inspector Darren Wallace from Merseyside Police said: “It’s vital that we work with other forces to tackle the drug dealing which does so much damage in our communities.
“Criminals running their County Lines operations don’t care about borders, as shown by the arrests made for nominals from Merseyside, Humberside, London and Bradford.
“The joint operation involved many teams including roads policing, intelligence, neighbourhood and plain clothes patrols. It resulted in 43 arrests and the closure of seven known graft lines used by gangs to supply drugs across the country.
“As a force we are committed to working alongside partners and other forces to close these County Lines and protect vulnerable people. We will relentlessly target those crime groups who cowardly exploit vulnerable people in our communities.”