Children safeguarded, arrests made and drugs seized in 'County Lines' crackdown
Devon and Cornwall Police carried out a week of action
Three children have been safeguarded as Devon and Cornwall Police crack down on County Lines drugs gangs.
Our force has been tackling gangs and protecting vulnerable people in the latest national intensification week.
Intensification weeks are run by the National Crime Agency (NCA) and the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and co-ordinated by the National County Lines Coordination Centre (NCLCC).
It ran from Monday 14th September until Sunday 20th September and saw extensive work by police officers and staff across the county to disrupt the work of organised drug gangs and safeguard vulnerable people.
During the week officers:
• Arrested five people suspected to be involved in county lines
• Safeguarded 60 people Devon & Cornwall who are at risk of, or actively being exploited by, a county line or other drugs group. This includes three children
• Identified at least two new county line groups operating in Devon and Cornwall
• Seized over £5,000 worth of Class-A drugs and £7,000 in cash from county line suspects
• Carried out patrols in drug criminality hotspots to deter activity
• Conducted awareness campaigns, sharing posters and policing knowledge at local schools and transport hubs to support members of the public to ‘know the signs’ of county lines
• Engaged with partner organisations – including housing providers and youth services - to raise awareness of county lines and provide targeted support to individuals where needed
“Across the Force, we’ve seen impressive results from this latest intensification week tackling county lines exploitation and protecting vulnerable people. Although this has been a week of national focus, we are working to tackle county lines gangs all year round and prevent the harm they can do to both local communities and the vulnerable people they exploit.
“We ran a comprehensive awareness raising campaign over the last month and asking members of the public, if they have concerns or information, to report 100% anonymously to Crimestoppers. We are fortunate to live in one of the safest parts of the country and we want to work with all our communities to keep it that way.”
Detective Superintendent, Ed Wright
“County lines” refers to a type of crime where drugs gangs exploit children and vulnerable adults to make them courier drugs and money across the country from the gang’s base in a large city to customers in towns across Devon and Cornwall.
The “county line” refers to the mobile phone line which is the link for the gangs to sell drugs.
“We have worked hard with our communities to reduce crime in the force area to levels lower than those in any other force in England and Wales.
“Part of the solution to reducing crime is through initiatives like the Turning Corners project in South Devon, funded via my office, which sought to engage vulnerable young people to offer them an alternative to getting involved in criminality. But I strongly believe that robust enforcement taken against those individuals who would exploit others for their own criminal gain is vitally important. I’d like to congratulate those officers, staff and partners who took part in this operation, their actions have taken dangerous drugs off our streets and sent a strong message that we will not tolerate drug dealing in our communities.”
Alison Hernandez, Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly
More information:
For more information on how to recognise the signs of county lines please visit www.dc.police.uk/countylines
People can report to Crimestoppers, 100% anonymously, via their website: https://crimestoppers-uk.org/ or by telephone: 0800 555111.
Or they can report to police using the non-emergency channels: https://www.devon-cornwall.police.uk/101