“Leicestershire Police perform exceptionally well in tackling County Lines organisations, as I saw during the recent County Lines Intensification week,” said Leicestershire PCC Rupert Matthews.
County Lines Intensification week started on Monday 17th May. It is a national operation for all police forces to focus on cracking down on drug smuggling across county lines.
One key factor is to help identify and safeguard children and adults often exploited through county lines gangs.
County Lines is where illegal drugs are transported from one area to another, often across police and local authority boundaries (although not exclusively), 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. Areas where the drugs are taken to are reporting increased levels of violence and weapons-related crimes as a result of this trend.
County Lines bring harmful and illegal substances into Leicestershire and Rutland by exploiting vulnerable children as mules.
Rupert Matthews, Police and Crime Commissioner for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland went to see an operation in action and commented:
“I observed joint operations between Leicestershire Police and British Transport Police at Leicester Station during County Lines Week. I was deeply impressed by the dedication and skills shown by Leicestershire Police and British Transport Police when confronting criminal activity.
“Prevention strategies like this are not just a demonstration of reacting to and stopping crime but also a great way of deterring criminals.
“County Lines week was a demonstration of an intelligence-led operation; it serves to counter drug smugglers who are exploiting vulnerable children and using them as a way of getting harmful and illegal substances into our city and two counties.
“I must say that the Police have been doing a fantastic job and it is teamwork like no other. I look forward to seeing some great results.”