Police have arrested ten people as part of a crackdown on a County Lines drug gang.
The drug supply network is believed to have been orchestrated in Liverpool and involved in flooding the streets of Plymouth with heroin and crack cocaine. Merseyside Police joined forces with Plymouth police to target suspected dealers operating in the city and local officers have now arrested ten people on suspicion of conspiracy to supply class A drugs, specifically heroin and crack cocaine.
The arrests were made on Tuesday as officers raided homes across the city and arrested people on the street, Plymouth Live reports.
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Det Insp Steve Fleetwood oversaw the action - called Operation Midfield - and said the final stage of the operation came about after months of both covert and overt work carried out by specialist officers targeting a number of suspects.
He said: "We arrested ten people in Plymouth on suspicion of conspiracy to supply class A drugs, specifically heroin and crack cocaine, on Tuesday. As a result of these arrests we executed 13 searches of properties around the city.
"Officers seized around £10,000 worth of crack cocaine and heroin, as well as a quantity of class B cannabis. In addition, officers seized a vehicle which is suspected of being used in the commission of crime."
Det Insp Fleetwood confirmed that all ten were brought to Charles Cross police station custody suite where they were interviewed. Of the ten arrested, eight people - four men and four women all in their 20s - were later released under investigation as inquiries continued.
He said: "The operation involved officers from the Plymouth Pro-active Team, roads policing officers and neighbourhood teams, particularly the Stonehouse Neighbourhood Team.
"We believe this was a significant suspected County Lines operation which we have been able to target. We don't want class A drugs in Plymouth and we rely on intelligence and information from the public to tackle it. This is not so much about targeting street dealers - it's about targeting the people who control and run the County Lines."
Det Insp Fleetwood said that the operation saw around 20 officers, including detectives, neighbourhood and specialist officers, take part.
He said: "We have gathered evidence over a period of months to get it to the arrest stage of the operation. This is so that when we bring these people in, we have already secured information about the County Lines scheme and those involved.
"We collaborated with the Stonehouse Neighbourhood Team who were key to the operation, especially in the Stonehouse area. A lot of the searches and arrests were carried out in Stonehouse properties and locations - such as car parks and other meeting places - where we suspected drug dealing was taking place.
As a result of the operation two men were later charged with a number of offences. Lee Hampson, aged 18 and from Birkenhead and Ryan Jones, aged 26 and also from Birkenhead were both charged with conspiracy to supply class A drugs.
Hampson, who was arrested on the street Manston Close, appeared at Plymouth Magistrates' Court on Thursday morning - where he faced two counts of conspiracy to supply class A and two counts of possession with intent to supply class A drugs. He was granted conditional bail to appear at Plymouth Crown Court on June 6 for a plea and directions hearing.
Jones, who was arrested in the street in Belgrave Lane, appeared at Plymouth Magistrates' Court on Thursday afternoon, charged with conspiracy to supply class A drugs.
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