23 arrests made and £20k cash seized in County Lines operation
“We can’t let the North East become a go-to place for recruiting and exploiting young people within County Lines”, says Northumbria's Police and Crime Commissioner.
Kim McGuiness has warned that more and more children from the North East are leaving their home region to pursue county lines work in other parts of the UK.
County Lines is a form of criminal exploitation where criminals persuade, coerce and force children and young people to store drugs and money or transport them to other areas.
Recently, children as young as 13 have been caught working as drugs runners for criminals operating within our region, with some even relocating to other parts of the UK where County Lines is a bigger problem and there is more work as ‘drugs runners’ on offer.
Last week a large-scale County Lines clampdown resulted in 23 people arrested and seized more than £20,000 in criminal cash.
The PCC said “Northumbria Police is pulling out all the stops– the raids, the covert operations, they’re doing it all to get on top of this as a region".
Collette Devlin-Smith, from Edge North East, said they had seen an increase in young people becoming involved County Lines over the past few years, not helped by lockdown increasing young people’s vulnerability.
Northumbria Police say they are "working hard to ensure this appalling practice does not take a hold" in our region.
“As well as taking part in national intensification periods, we regularly carry out a range of activity as part of Operation Sentinel which includes targeted strikes and arrests aimed at shutting down the deal lines and pursuing offenders, to working with our partners to ensure vulnerable victims are identified and safeguarded.
“We would ask the public, especially parents, to work with us and report any concerns to help us put a stop to this despicable method of drug dealing.”