County Lines drug cases – more arrests for cross border drugs supply
In January 2023, the Government announced a crackdown against organised criminal gangs. In the latest concentrated operation, over 1,800 people were arrested to stifle the cross-border drugs supply in the UK.
What is County Lines?
County Lines is where illegal drugs are transported from one area in the UK to another. Criminal gangs often coerce children, or vulnerable people into carrying the drugs on their behalf. The ‘County Line’ is the mobile phone line used to take the order of drugs.
What do we mean by cross-border?
In this sense, ‘cross-border’ means travelling across police and local authority boundaries in the UK. Often the drugs are taken from urban areas to rural areas, and further afield in the UK.
What happened in March 2024?
In March 2024 over 1,800 people were arrested and 245 drug lines were shutdown. This was part of a seven-day long intensification week, which ran from 4 March to 10 March, and the effort was co-ordinated by the National County Lines Coordination Centre.
Police obtained search warrants for certain properties and seized assets that were believed to be linked to the proceeds of crime. The asset seized were wide-ranging, including; cash, gold bars, Class A and B drugs, weapons (a sword, a machete, knives, air rifles), cars, E-bikes, and a Rolex watch.
Since then, some of the gang members have been given custodial sentences for conspiracy to supply and distribute heroin and crack cocaine.
What about the children and vulnerable adults?
Any children and vulnerable adults that were found to be caught up in the criminal gangs were safeguarded. As they were only involved because they were coerced, they are not considered to be culpable for wrongdoing.
Instead, they are protected from future involvement in the gangs, and the police are bringing victimless prosecutions for modern slavery offences. That means that the children and vulnerable adults do not have to go to court to give evidence.
What does it mean for criminal justice?
This is just one example of the targeted operations that go on to safeguard vulnerable victims and shut down drug lines. It’s part of the ongoing, year-round efforts to tackle organised drug crime.
With successful operations like these, the criminal justice system is able to protect vulnerable people, and reduce the social problems associated with drug use such as addiction, violence, and homelessness.
How we can help
People in charge of County Lines operations are rarely caught in possession of drugs. Instead, it’s the vulnerable people who carry out the deliveries who are at risk of being arrested, charged, or convicted.
If you find yourself in this situation, it’s important that you get good representation to fight your corner. We can help with your police interviews and preparing your case so that the charge and sentencing reflect the extent of your involvement, and no more. You may be eligible for a defence under the Modern Slavery Act, and if that’s the case then you won’t be culpable.
Whatever your situation, we can advise you on how to deal with the police, and with the court process. Please get in touch for a confidential consultation.
Harewood Law are based in Leeds, near Bradford, Halifax, Wakefield, Huddersfield, Keighley and we cover West Yorkshire and across the UK, so contact Harewood Law today.
Harewood Law regularly instruct leading experts in this area and we can assist, guide and advise on the type of expert that is most relevant in your particular circumstance. Please contact our team today on 0333 3448377 or email us on info@harewoodlaw.com and we will be more than happy to assist.