72 arrests made and over £100k worth of drugs seized during county lines week of action

Last week (February 27- March 5) police forces in Britain took part in a County Lines Intensification Week. Tarian, which is formed of officers from South Wales, Dyfed-Powys and Gwent Police, worked with British Transport Police and other partners to share intelligence and disrupt county lines criminals. The aim of the week was to ensure that all possible opportunities to disrupt criminals and safeguard vulnerable people were maximised.

Over the week, across the southern Welsh police forces, the following was achieved:

• 72 arrests
• Four drugs lines dismantled
• £28,890 cash seized
• Over £100,000 worth of drugs seized, including 1kg of heroin
• Seizure of a variety of weapons including hammers, knives, machetes, samurai swords and imitation firearms
• A number of vehicles and mobile phones seized
• 28 vulnerable children and adults identified and safeguarded

Police officers made use of a range of resources including automatic number plate recognition (ANPR), knife sweeps, search warrants, covert officers and police dogs.

Detective Inspector Richard Weber, from Tarian, said:

“The point of these intensification weeks is to heavily disrupt organised crime gangs, whose selfish intentions cause a myriad of mental and physical pain to those exploited into their circles.

“In addition, we want to raise awareness around county lines and we have worked hard with partners from health, education and housing to those working in hotels, the licensing trade, transport networks and the third to sector to ensure they are able to recognise the signs and symptoms associated with county lines and what to do should they have concerns. We also want to protect our communities and spent time at locations such as boxing clubs and schools to build relationships and inform young people of the risks associated with drugs.

“We continue to pursue perpetrators of county lines drugs operations heavily. We also understand the implications on young people who may have been coerced into committing these crimes, and we do all we can to protect them through signposting to support and referring to mechanisms in place.

“We have seen some really positive results through this week, and the work won’t end here to make southern Wales a volatile place for violent criminals.”