Police have arrested more than 200 people and rescued children being used as drug mules in a nationwide crackdown on county lines gangs. The operation, led by the new National County Lines Coordination Centre, targeted city-based groups that deal drugs via branded phone lines in small towns and rural areas.
During the week-long sweep, officers seized weapons including a samurai sword, axe, meat cleaver, gun and ammunition, alongside tens of thousands of pounds in cash and significant quantities of heroin, crack cocaine and other drugs. Fifty-eight vulnerable people, including children, were placed under protective measures.
Sue Southern, the National Crime Agency's national county lines lead, said the operation had 'substantially disrupted' numerous gangs. 'Supply gangs are responsible for high levels of violence and the exploitation and abuse of vulnerable adults and children,' she said. 'Our work is ongoing and we are pursuing all available means of strengthening the national response.'
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Duncan Ball, the National Police Chiefs' Council lead for county lines, added: 'Our primary aim in dismantling these networks is protecting the young and vulnerable people who are exploited by gangs and are subject to violence, fear and intimidation.'
Research by the St Giles Trust found that children as young as 12 are being exploited, often from deprived backgrounds or in care, though some come from comfortable families. Gangs view children as 'expendable foot soldiers', according to one police officer. The crackdown follows a rise in knife crime linked to county lines, with drug-related murders now accounting for 57 per cent of homicides in England and Wales.
