Police rescue 82 children in county lines drug raids
WEST Midlands Police has arrested 155 people and rescued 82 children in a major crackdown on ‘county lines’ drug gangs.
The force has also seized 47 weapons, and drugs with a street value of £290,000.
It was part of operations involving West Midlands Police, Merseyside Police, London’s Metropolitan Police and British Transport Police.
Gangs typically recruit young people and send them across the country to sell drugs but, as the recruits are too young to drive, they use public transport.
Children are sent from Birmingham New Street station to sell drugs in rural areas.
The force said that it had “safeguarded” 82 children – taking measures to protect children from danger.
Between the forces, 657 people were arrested between November 2019 and March 2020, and 109 weapons were seized, including firearms.
Chief Inspector Ronan Tyrer from the West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit said: “Funding has enabled us to create a taskforce dedicated to targeting top-tier drugs criminals operating in our region.
“These are people running drugs networks, exploiting vulnerable people and making large sums of money on the back of others’ suffering.
“These results are just the start: there will be many more warrants, arrests and seizures over the coming weeks and months.”
The Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services – official watchdog for police forces – has named Birmingham, Liverpool and London as the three main bases for the gangs.
“There are more than 2,000 individual deal line numbers in the UK, linked to approximately 1,000 ‘branded’ county lines,” an inspectorate report detailed.
“Analysis suggests that London, Birmingham and Liverpool are the main exporting areas, with other ‘county lines’ originating from a further 23 forces. The rail network remains a key method of transportation, particularly for children exploited in ‘county lines’ offending.
“Trains are used because the dealers, who are often intimidated or bullied into working for the gangs, are too young to drive.
“Gangs based in the big cities send dealers, many of them children, to towns, villages and rural areas, where they sell drugs.
“Customers reach them using dedicated mobile phone lines, leading to the name ‘county lines’.”