69 arrests and £250K seized in Merseyside drug crackdown
Project Medusa is aimed at dismantling and disrupting criminal gangs
69 people have been arrested and more than £250,000 has been seized during a week-long crackdown on county lines drug-dealing across Merseyside.
More work to dismantle and disrupt criminal gangs was carried out during County Lines Intensification Week (27 February - 5 March).
It included warrants, visits to vulnerable people and joint operations with other police forces including North Wales and Lancashire.
During the week of action:
- 69 arrests and 29 charges were made
- Six county lines were shut down
- 481 wraps of crack cocaine, 386 wraps of heroin, 65 wraps of cocaine, 2kg of cannabis and 500,000 illicit Class B and Class C prescription tablets were recovered
- More than £250,000 in cash was recovered
- Weapons including lock knives and a metal baton were seized
- Around £100,000 in illegally imported cigarettes were recovered along with £20,000 worth of designer clothes and watches
- Officers helped to support 84 vulnerable people
Inspector Darren Wallace, who works as part of the Project Medusa Team to respond to county lines, said:
"Unfortunately, the Merseyside area is the second highest exporter of County Lines nationally.
"Merseyside Police are seen as one of the national leads in tackling this type of crime.
"We, therefore, take every opportunity to relentlessly pursue those offenders who are involved in county lines drug supply."
Many drug dealers take over vulnerable people's homes to carry out their criminal activity in an act known as 'cuckooing'.
Officers have been leaflet-dropping in areas where it's feared that cuckooing takes place.
Sgt. Kieron Hogan says he's seen the impact of that.
"We supported one gentleman who was being cuckooed by a gang from the Dingle area and managed to get that person removed from that address and placed into a safer address at another place in Merseyside.
"We’ve previously given these leaflets out and it does generate information and intelligence coming through to us.
"It’s an opportunity for people to get in touch with us anonymously so they’re not seen to be talking to the police, but it gives us the background to go in and do joint visits with our partners where we might go in and do a safeguarding approach rather than going straight down the criminal justice route."
Officers have also been out in areas of Merseyside to look for evidence of drug-related activity.
Sgt Carol McCartney said:
"We’re targeting certain areas within the city centre which we know, through community intelligence and information from local businesses, are being used for drug-dealing, drug-use, anti-social behaviour and the storage of weaponry.
"Anything we find, we’ll investigate. If we find drugs, we seize them and take them off the street.
"If there is any intelligence around who has been involved in drug dealing, we’ll also investigate that and obviously all of those things are linked to county lines."
Officers and police cadets also carried out an operation in Liverpool city centre to test whether hotel staff could spot the potential signs of children being exploited.
Cadets approached hotels and tried to book a room to see if ID was asked for.
When it wasn't, officers educated staff and signposted training.
Superintendent Martin Earl said:
"Project Medusa and teams across the force are working to tackle County Lines drug dealing, day in, day out. Our involvement in this national week of action is just a snapshot of the work we do all year round.
"There is no doubt that the additional activity we have carried out will have further disrupted organised crime groups and county lines drug dealing. We’ve had a successful week of intensification with a significant amount of drugs taken off our streets, weapons recovered and 69 arrests made.
"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.
"We thank the public who share information with us about drug dealing or any vulnerability they see, this intelligence is vital to protecting our communities. It’s important everyone who cares for or knows a young and/or vulnerable person can spot the warning signs. You can visit the Eyes Open campaign to learn more and tell us if something doesn’t feel right."
More information on the Eyes Open Campaign can be found here.