Four Cambs Drug lines Closed In Week Of Action

Police continue to rid the county of drugs gangs by dismantling four lines in a week

Last week officers arrested 27 people and seized more than £12k in cash, £169k in cannabis and £7k in crack cocaine and heroin as part of a week of national targeted action (17-23 May) to tackle county lines.

Working alongside other forces and partners, officers executed warrants and targeted patrols in Cambridge, Ely, Huntingdon, London, Peterborough, St Neots and Whittlesey where the arrests were made.

Four people, who were in charge of the lines, have since been charged with county lines drugs offences and are going through the court system.

They also visited ten potential cuckooed addresses, where drug dealers take over the home of a vulnerable person in order to use it as a base for dealing, to ensure people were safeguarded.

Illegal weapons including knives, batons and knuckledusters were also seized.

The week follows a successful five months (December-April) for Detective Chief Inspector Chris O’Brien and his team who have made 235 arrests and secured 60 charges for drugs offences – dismantling 20 different county lines.

The force has also referred 41 people to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) as potential victims of exploitation.

County lines is where illegal drugs are transported from one area to another, often across police and local authority borders, usually by children or vulnerable people who are coerced into it by gangs.

Drug dealers get young people to deliver their drugs by paying them or by forcing them through violence and grooming.

DCI O’Brien said: “There is a significant demand for crack cocaine and heroin across the county, particularly in Cambridge and Peterborough, and as a result the market is and remains attractive to county lines.

“The message is simple, if you send people to deal drugs in Cambridgeshire on your behalf, we will find them and then find you and bring you all to justice. If you’re exploiting people, we will safeguard them and work with partners to ensure they are protected.”