Urban Black Country and leafy Shropshire both hit by scourge of County Lines

Drugs are transported from mainly large urban areas to smaller rural towns, with the ‘line’ referring to the phone number used to make orders.

Counties like Shropshire and Staffordshire are targeted by gangs that operate from built-up areas like the Black Country.

Police serving Shropshire made 50 arrests and seized thousands of pounds worth of drugs and weapons earlier this year in a major crackdown on county lines criminals. The action saw West Mercia Police officers swoop on properties in a bid to disrupt gangs that use mobile phone lines to sell substances including cocaine, cannabis and heroin.

Drugs with an estimated street value of £62,000 was confiscated along with more than £16,000 in cash, 20 weapons including BB guns, knives, a cross-bow, baseball bats, swords, nine vehicles and 40 mobile phones by officers armed with search warrants.

In addition 85 homes where the occupant could potentially be at risk of ‘cuckoo-ing’ – the practice of using the home of a vulnerable person to deal drugs – were checked.

The successful week-long operation in March opened a window on the large-scale criminal activity happening in our communities.

West Mercia’s Assistant Chief Constable Richard Cooper said: “The targeted activity carried out last week by our officers to tackle County Lines gangs demonstrates how committed we are to disrupt and dismantle drugs supply, and protect children and young people and those would could be vulnerable to exploitation in our communities.

“It is vital to remember that operations such as these during this national week of intensification are very much ‘business as usual’ for our teams, and demonstrates the great work done by officers and staff throughout the year.The intelligence gathering and preparation that goes into making arrests and disrupting county lines have been, in some cases, weeks and months in the making.

“Education is also key, and our officers have conducted many visits to schools, social care providers, health professionals and other important community groups, to provide them with information on what to look for and how we can help the community to spot the signs of cuckooing.”

County lines drug dealers often exploit children and young people, recruiting them to run drugs and cash between urban and county locations and to deal drugs on their behalf. Once recruited in to county lines it can be difficult for those being exploited to leave, with threats and violence used.

In June last year, a Dyfed-Powys Police swoop at the Leighton Arches travellers’ site in Welshpool uncovered that a gang moved hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of heroin, cocaine and cannabis from Wolverhampton for distribution to Mid Wales towns over a number of months. A total of 12 members of a county lines gang – all based in the Wolverhampton and Welshpool areas – have since been convicted of supplying heroin, cocaine and cannabis.