Police have arrested 61 people on a range of offences including modern slavery in a week as they crack down on County Lines drug operations in the East Midlands. Over £80,000 of suspected heroin was seized, along with more than £111,000 of suspected cocaine, and almost £55,000 in cash.
Police say more than 90 vulnerable people were safeguarded and five referrals were made for Modern Slavery concerns. Across the region, 61 people were arrested for a number of offences including drug supply, Modern Slavery, money laundering and possession of offensive weapons, with dozens more arrests for unrelated matters.
Three firearms were seized and two imitation firearms, along with 27 other weapons and multiple valuable assets including 15 vehicles. A huge amount of yet unquantified Class A and B drugs including more than £15,000 worth of cannabis was taken off the streets, as at least three County Lines deal line phones were seized, effectively closing them down.
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County Lines is a term used to describe gangs and organised criminal networks involved in exporting illegal drugs into one or more importing areas within the UK, using dedicated mobile phone lines or other form of ‘deal line.’
They are likely to exploit children and vulnerable adults to move and store the drugs and money, and will often use coercion, intimidation, violence - Including sexual violence - and weapons.
EMSOU’s Regional Vulnerabilities Co-Ordinator for County Lines, Stuart Jones, said: “We are committed to identifying and fighting signs of County Lines all year round, not just in this intensification week, but it’s absolutely great to see such high figures of vulnerable people safeguarded, dangerous criminals arrested, and drugs and weapons seized taken off the streets across the East Midlands.
“The amount of disruption from this week will have caused a huge inconvenience to those in charge of running the lines. Our work doesn’t finish here, we will continue to investigate those involved in County Lines, develop more intelligence to allow us to take further proactive action against those involved, and to safeguard those that sadly fall victim to such a selfish crime.”
