Thousands of pounds worth of drugs and cash seized in County Lines crackdown across Surrey and Hampshire

Our two counties' police forces have been involved in a week's national operation to tackle County Lines - described by Surrey Police as the most successful one yet".

Over 1,000 arrests were made and £1m worth of Class A drugs seized across the country.

In Surrey, 27 arrests were made, over £10k worth of crack cocaine and heroin seized plus unquantified amounts of cannabis, nearly £21k in cash was seized, designer trainers and clothing seized with a value of around £25k, and 37 mobile phones and two weapons were seized.

Hampshire Constabulary seized 166 grams of crack cocaine and over 88 wraps, 47 grams of heroin and over 85 wraps, 26 kg of cocaine and two wraps, 580 grams of cannabis, an additional £45,000 and more worth of suspected Class A drugs, over £47,000 in cash, over 10 weapons - mostly knives and a machete, a large quantity of suspected stolen goods and 51 mobile phones.

Hampshire Constabulary’s led for drug-related harm, Chief Superintendent, Nigel Lecointe, said: "At the heart of this week of intensification is the aim to bring down county lines networks and safeguarding exploited children and the vulnerable.

"County Lines and local drug networks cause misery for our communities and it is absolutely right that we continue putting significant effort into identifying and arresting those involved.

"The collaborative work between Hampshire Constabulary and our partners will only increase and intensify in the coming weeks and months ahead. We will continue to shine a spotlight on and bring to justice those running these toxic drug networks."

Hampshire Constabulary has also been supporting and sharing BTP and The Children’s Society’s #LookCloser awareness campaign to encourage professionals and the public to ‘Look Closer’ for signs that a child may be at risk of criminal exploitation.

It is aimed at anyone who may encounter children in their daily lives, including service sector employees and transport workers, as public spaces are often where exploited children are most visible.

Key signs of exploitation include children travelling alone, particularly during school hours, late at night or on a regular basis. They may also look lost or in unfamiliar surroundings and may be carrying large amounts of money.

Surrey Police said said while such operations will have substantially disrupted several county lines, they continue to appeal to the public to help spot the signs and report any suspected activity, including:

Anyone with information is urged to call 101 or 999 in an emergency.