Arrests were made, £10,000 was seized and vulnerable people were safeguarded during a week-long focus on county lines drugs crime in Cumbria.
More than 1,100 people also received expert advice about this type of exploitation and offending as police officers and staff visited groups and schools to raise awareness of the threats to communities.
County lines is a term used to describe gangs and organised networks involved in exporting drugs into other areas, using dedicated mobile phone lines.
Officers in the county take action every day to tackle the threat from county lines drugs gangs and protect those potentially being exploited.
Police in Cumbria have had success in disrupting and catching numerous county lines drugs gangs in recent years, with significant sentences handed out in the courts.
From March 4 to March 10, law enforcement nationally collectively stepped up its response and enhanced active investigations.
During this week, it is suspected enquiries led to the disruption of another of these lines in the Carlisle area, with a man from Merseyside charged following enquiries.
Detective Chief Inspector Andy Myers, head of Cumbria police’s serious and organised crime unit, said: “This is just a snapshot of the work our officers and staff do all-year-round to tackle suspected county lines crime.
“We are unrelenting in our pursuit of all drug traffickers, including those operating using the county lines model.
“One of our main aims is also to prevent people being drawn into county lines, including diverting children and young people away from a way of life that is massively damaging to their own communities and their future prospects.”
Results from action taken during the week include:
- The arrest of four people in the Stainmore area, with a quantity of suspected MCAT – otherwise known as mephedrone – seized.
- The seizure of cocaine and a baton torch weapon as a man was arrested in Carlisle.
- The seizure of £10,000 from under the driver’s seat of a car that had visited Carlisle from outside the county.
- Arrest of a teenager on suspicion of possession of drugs with intent to supply after large quantity of cannabis was seized in Carlisle.
Work was carried out with other agencies throughout the week.
This included linking up with the national charity The Children’s Society on some of the educational visits and drawing on the expertise of the Well Communities, a recovery organisation that supports those who are recovering from addiction
There was also collaborative working with British Transport Police and the Civil Nuclear Constabulary to ensure all forces operating in Cumbria were involved.
DCI Myers added: “Drug supply can involve the exploitation of some the most vulnerable members of the community: children, young people and vulnerable adults.
“The people involved in this world use and abuse our communities and line their pockets by ruining lives and badly affecting the neighbourhoods you live in.
“They blight the lives of the people working for them and exploited by them, cause addiction in the people buying their drugs – and then there are the knock-on effect of anti-social behaviour and associated crime.
“But to keep up that work we need the information and intelligence to keep coming to us. Help us to protect your communities.”
