Norfolk Chief Constable promises to continue crackdown on county lines
He's commended the role of officers tackling drug dealing.
Norfolk's new Chief Constable has pledges to continue work to crackdown on county lines drug dealing in local communities.
In one of his first official roles, Chief Constable Sanford presented commendations to officers and staff who have been tackling county lines drug dealing in the county since Operation Gravity began in 2016.
Since then, more than two thousand arrests have been made, with many drug dealers put behind bars.
In the last 18 months, the county lines team has also been working in partnership with the Metropolitan Team on Op Orochi, which focuses on identifying the individuals who control the lines from London.
56 line controllers have been charged since November 2019, with 36 county lines shut down.
Chief Constable Sanford said: "Operation Orochi has allowed officers to focus on those criminals who are operating County Lines at their source from London into Norfolk and in doing so, we have been able to effectively disrupt the supply of crack cocaine and heroin into the county.
"Those who run County Lines not only exploit vulnerable people and children, but they are often associated with violence and anti-social behavior which causes real concerns within our communities.
"I am proud of our team of officers and staff who work tirelessly every day to identify these individuals, help take violent criminals off our streets and make our county a safer place.
"I want to reassure our communities that our work will not stop here. We will continue to work with the Metropolitan Police to target line holders - and under Project Adder, we will be working with Public Health and other partner agencies to focus on treating drug users in order to combat the demand for drugs."
Norfolk Police and Crime Commissioner, Giles Orpen-Smellie, who also attended the commendation ceremony, said: "It was an honour to attend the commendation ceremony today and to hear first-hand about the hard work and commitment shown by police officers and police staff to tackle County Lines in Norfolk.
"I will be soon be launching my Police and Crime Plan consultation to ask the people of Norfolk about their priorities for policing in the next three years. I imagine that they will wish to see the fight against County Lines continued within the wider context of policing in Norfolk.
"Today's event was an ideal opportunity to pause and thank those involved in the effort against County Lines for all their positive work to date."
Paul Sanford has stepped into the Chief Constable position temporarily following the retirement of Simon Bailey.