Gwynedd is revealed as drug arrest hotspot of North Wales

Figures also show shocking number of teen dealers

CHILDREN as young as 13 have been arrested on suspicion of dealing drugs, figures have revealed.

Police have arrested 146 children aged 17 and under on suspicion of dealing since 2014, as fears over the “county lines” phenomenon continue.

Figures released following a Freedom of Information request to North Wales Police showed that two of those arrested were aged 13, while five were aged 14.

There were 20 arrests of suspects aged 15, 41 were aged 16, and 78 were 17 years old.

Gwynedd has seen the largest number of drug dealing arrests

since 2014 with 657, while Denbighshire had 505 and Wrexham had 478.

Flintshire had 331 arrests, Conwy had 266, and Anglesey had 201.

In total, there have been 2,438 arrests on suspicion of dealing drugs since 2014, including heroin, cocaine and cannabis.

They spiked in 2017 with 573, which rose from 336 in 2014.

In 2018, there were 453 arrests, and there have been 273 so far this year.

More than a third of arrests since 2014 have resulted in charges, amounting to 937 in total. But the numbers have been dropping since 2014, when 248 arrests resulted in charges.

In 2018, there were only 85, and there have been 26 arrests which have resulted in charges so far this year.

The figures follow news that drugs are causing a record number of “preventable” deaths in North Wales.

North Wales Police chiefs said they are committed to stopping drug dealers and disrupting county lines operations, but need the public to provide information.

Detective Superintendent Steve Williams said: “We are committed to ridding our communities of those who supply controlled drugs and will continue to try to disrupt the supply chains coming into north Wales as part of our wider strategy to combat county lines crime.

“We can’t tackle this problem alone and key to all our work is intelligence.

“I cannot stress the importance of the public sharing their concerns with us.

“We are also working with agencies to signpost drug users to the appropriate support and facilities available to help them break the cycle of addiction and the associated problems that it brings with it.

“Information can be passed by contacting the web live chat or phoning 101.

“If you’d rather pass information anonymously then phone Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”