Weapons, cash and drugs valued at hundreds of thousands of pounds were seized by West Yorkshire Police officers as part of a week-long operation targeting County Lines crime

The week of activity took place from 7 to 13 March and saw a total of 39 arrests made in West Yorkshire.

County Lines crime involves the moving of illegal drugs from one area to another, often across police and local authority boundaries, and usually by children or vulnerable people who are coerced into it by gangs. 

The ‘County Line’ is the mobile phone line used to take the orders of drugs.

Among the drugs seized were £300,000 of cannabis edibles from a residential address in the Upton area of Wakefield. 

The drugs, made to look like sweets and packaged in colourful packets were expected to be distributed from West Yorkshire to areas across the country. 

Around £2,000 of cannabis was retrieved as well as nearly £10,000 of crack cocaine and over £6,750 of heroin.
A total of 19 ‘mobile phones used by dealers to arrange the supply of drugs were seized as well as designer clothing, high-value electric bikes and scooters and nearly £130,000 in cash. 

Among the weapons seized were knives, an axes, batons and crossbow.

In addition, officers identified or engaged with 46 vulnerable adults and paid a visit to three cuckooed addresses, where vulnerable people are being exploited by criminal gangs in their homes for criminal gain.

Detective Supt Fiona Gaffney, head of Serious and Organised Crime at West Yorkshire Police, said: 

“County Lines and the organised crime linked to it has a significant impact on the people of West Yorkshire and the communities we serve” 

“It’s linked to violence and the exploitation of many vulnerable people.” 

“Our aim is to disrupt these activities and to reassure people in our county that we won’t tolerate county lines criminality anywhere in West Yorkshire.”‍