South Wales Crackdown on County Lines Crime
People arrested and drugs seized as gangs targeted in week of action
46 people have been arrested and drugs worth an estimated £715,000 seized in the latest crackdown on county lines crime in South Wales.
South Wales Police have also safeguarded 24 vulnerable people during a week of targeted action to disrupt county lines.
County lines is the name given to drug dealing where organised criminal groups (OCGs) move and supply drugs, usually from cities into smaller towns and rural areas.
Across the three forces (South Wales, Gwent and Dyfed-Powys), highlights include:
• 46 people arrested
• Five lines dismantled
• 8 search warrants executed
• £34,710 cash seized
• 7,020g cocaine seized with a street value of £700,000
• Seizure of a variety of weapons including machetes, knives, baseball bats, knuckle dusters and imitation firearms
• 24 vulnerable children and adults identified and safeguarded
• Passive drugs dog deployed to train stations in Cardiff, Newport and Swansea in partnership with British Transport Police
• 52 mobile phones seized
Officers also engaged with children, parents and professionals to highlight the danger of involvement in County Lines activity and delivered County Lines awareness sessions to over 1,000 multi-agency partners and 11,000 children.
Detective Inspector Richard Weber who coordinated the week of activity in southern Wales, said: “Whilst we work all year to take drugs off the streets, this week has brought some substantial results. By disrupting supply lines and taking those involved out of circulation, we can make south Wales’s communities safer.
“We can only do this with the support and information that we get from residents so I would urge anyone with information about drug dealing in their community to call us on 101, we treat every piece of information as important.”