More than 30 arrested as North Yorkshire police tackle County Lines Gangs
A joint operation has been held with Merseyside police
North Yorkshire Police has teamed up with Merseyside Police on a national “Project Medusa” operation to disrupt county lines drug dealing and safeguard vulnerable people.
Over 100 police officers and staff from both North Yorkshire Police and Merseyside Police worked on the two-day operation from a variety of departments which include intelligence teams, proactive disruption, police dogs and drones as well as local policing and specialist roads policing officers. Officers from the British Transport Police also supported the operation with high visibility and plain clothed patrols at transport hubs.
Warrants were executed at various addresses and increased plain clothed and uniformed patrols were used to intercept drug deals on the streets. A specialist strike team used intelligence-led Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology to intercept vehicles on the road network which are linked to drugs. The York Rescue Boat also supported the operation by providing additional river safety patrols on the River Ouse.
Several proactive safeguarding and welfare checks were conducted on people who are known or suspected as being vulnerable to county lines exploitation.
Project Medusa, funded by the Home Office, is a Merseyside Police initiative to tackle county lines drug dealing and the criminal exploitation of young people and vulnerable adults. Since 2019, Merseyside’s Project Medusa officers – who are recognised nationally as a leading force in tackling county lines – have closed more than 1,100 county lines; arrested more than 2,400 people for offences including drug supply, firearms and money laundering; and identified 1,250 children and vulnerable adults who have been referred to safeguarding services. North Yorkshire Police secured additional funding and used its specialist teams to drive the initiative to ensure that it’s communities in York and Selby remain hostile places for any would-be criminals to operate in.
"We won't stop here"
Detective Chief Inspector Carol Kirk from North Yorkshire Police was leading the operation. DCI Kirk commented:“Project Medusa is one of the largest operations that North Yorkshire Police has ever seen. It’s firmly had our approach of protecting communities and safeguarding the vulnerable at its heart.
“At the start of the new year these results are extremely positive and will go a long way to improve the quality of life for people in our communities.
“But this is two days of activity, and we won’t stop here. We will continue our relentless pursuit to protect our communities from harm and ensure that North Yorkshire remains one of the safest places to live.”
Inspector Stephen Morris, from Merseyside Police said: “We regularly deploy to other force areas to target county lines drug dealing, and this operation with North Yorkshire shows the results that can be achieved when working jointly to target those involved in this type of criminality.
“The arrests and seizures made during this operation should act as a stark warning to county lines offenders. My message to those involved in county lines is clear – we have a zero-tolerance approach to serious organised crime, and we are relentless in our pursuit of those involved.”
Support Services
If you are a young person who is worried about being involved in county lines, or knows someone who is, you can speak to an adult and let them know how you feel.
You can also contact www.fearless.org who allow you to pass on information about crime anonymously.
You can also contact Childline on 0800 1111 – they are a private and confidential service where you can talk to counsellors about anything that is worrying you.