Two men have been arrested in Leeds as part of a crackdown on county lines drug gangs.
West Yorkshire Police conducted a pre-dawn raid in Pudsey, Leeds, arresting two people in the early hours of February 3. This formed part of the police’s work to crack down on county lines drug dealing with their newly formed County Lines Taskforce.
This is known as Operation Phoenix, and the taskforce was established last year with funds from the Home Office. So far, it has arrested 72 people, and secured 143 charges since becoming operational last October.
They have also seized 7.5 kilograms of Class A drugs, including heroin and cocaine, with nearly £150,000 in suspected criminal cash and assets also sezied. The taskforce has also shut down more than 50 telephone lines, and safeguarded 43 people.
Detective Inspector Helen Chapman, who heads the team, said: “Since our dedicated taskforce went live in October we have taken significant steps to disrupt the activities of those involved in County Lines.
“This type of offending causes real harm in our communities – it’s linked to serious violence as well as vulnerable people, including children, being exploited.
“Our aim is to identify the people involved and dismantle their networks.”
If you want to know more about the taskforce you can go online here.
Anyone with any information can contact the police via live chat or by calling 101. Alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
You should always call 999 in an emergency.
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