British police launched joint operations between October 11 and 17 to disrupt county lines drug trafficking, detaining 1,468 people, confiscating weapons, including zombie knives and samurai swords, and seizing £1.3 million.
The arrests, made across England and Wales, saw police officers target senior figures behind the drug trafficking schemes in the latest crackdown on the country lines networks. Detaining 1,468 people, police shut down 139 county lines and halted the distribution of almost £2 million ($2.76 million) of Class A drugs, including 30kg of heroin and 27kg of cocaine.
Searching properties linked to those arrested, police seized more than 280 weapons, including zombie knives, which can have blades up to two feet (60cm) long, samurai swords, crossbows and firearms, as well as £1.25 million in cash.
As part of the police crackdown on offenders, authorities were able to help 2,664 vulnerable individuals, moving them into a protected environment and providing them with safeguards.
County line gangs often exploit young children and vulnerable individuals into moving illegal narcotics from large cities into regional towns and rural areas via dedicated phone lines.
Also on rt.com Revealed: How Britain is putting its child spies in extreme danger... by a former top undercover cop“We’re stopping abhorrent criminals abusing young people and lining their own pockets in the process,” the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s (NPCC) Graham McNulty said, adding that police are making “significant inroads into dismantling violent county lines.”
Since UK police forces began tackling county lines drug dealing, the NPCC has estimated that the number of active county lines has been cut from 2,000 to around 600 in three years.
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