By SYP County Lines Week sees 55 arrests amid Class A drugs seizures
South Yorkshire Police’s County Lines Week saw 55 arrests being made last week alongside a mass of Class A drugs seizures.
Over £20,000 worth of drugs was found at multiple addresses as SYP tackled county lines drugs gangs in the local area.
Vulnerable adults and even children are exploited every year by gangs in networks originating from larger cities which operate in smaller, rural towns.
They are asked to harbour and deal Class A drugs for them, often feeling they have no other choice.
Some people’s homes are even taken over by the intimidating figures to become a centre for drug dealing.
Over the past week, SYP executed warrants daily to eliminate these gangs.
Alongside the 55 arrests, £15,500 worth of crack cocaine, £5,400 worth of heroin and a large amount of cannabis was recovered from a range of different premises across South Yorkshire, including in Doncaster.
£12,000 in cash and multiple dangerous weapons were also seized in the process.
Detective Chief Inspector Emma Wheatcroft said: “It was a highly successful week here in South Yorkshire and thanks to the hard work of our officers, we now have a great deal of evidence to progress prosecutions and take these harmful criminals from our streets.
“Enforcement is only one side of this story.
“While many teams focused on drugs warrants, others worked with partners and visited vulnerable adults and children to raise awareness of county lines, what to look out for and how to report concerns that someone is being criminally exploited.”
DCI Wheatcroft continued: “It’s important we build relationships with these victims so they know to come to us if anything is wrong – that trust element is really important as they can feel threatened and intimidated by gangs and we need them to know we are there to help.
“The networks built by our neighbourhood policing officers are incredibly valuable.
“We also visited schools to speak to children about the risks of county lines and who they, their family and teachers can speak to if they’re worried about exploitation.
“It’s important to know that any child can be targeted by gangs, they operate by filling a need, whether it be by offering money, friendship or gifts.”
(Photo: SYP)
