County Lines Intensification Week

Officers from South Wales Police’s area have arrested 31 people and safeguarded 58 vulnerable people during a week of targeted action to disrupt county lines.

County lines is the name given to drug dealing where organised criminal groups (OCGs) move and supply drugs, usually from cities into smaller towns and rural areas.

The activity has coincided with a national “week of intensification” which is led by the National Crime Agency. The latest week of activity ran from Monday 9 October to Monday 16 October.

Across the force area highlights include:

• 31 people arrested for a variety of offences;
• Six lines dismantled;
• 9 search warrants executed;
• £56,610 cash seized;
• 184g crack cocaine seized (estimated street value of up to £9750);
• 235g cocaine seized (estimated street value of up to £12,800);
• 103g heroin seized (estimated street value of up to £4900);
• Seizure of a variety of weapons including knives, hammers, lighter fluid, and an airsoft gun;
• 34 vulnerable children and adults identified and safeguarded;
• Eight mobile phones seized;
• Four cars seized;

Officers also engaged with children, parents and professionals to highlight the danger of involvement in County Lines activity and delivered County Lines awareness sessions to multi-agency partners and 11,000 children.

Detective Inspector Chris Williams, who coordinated the week of activity in South Wales, said: “Whilst we work all year to take drugs off the streets, this week has brought some substantial results.

“By disrupting supply lines and taking those involved out of circulation, we can make South Wales’s communities safer.

“We can only do this with the support and information that we get from the public, so I encourage anyone with information about drug dealing in their community to call us on 101, we treat every piece of information as important.”