‘We want our neighbourhoods to be safe from those who exploit our young people’ – Dedicated police team target County Lines gangs

Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner Gary Godden has welcomed the work of a dedicated policing team which is rescuing children who are being exploited by gangs to sell drugs such as heroin and crack cocaine.

County lines is a term used to describe criminal networks that exploit children and vulnerable adults to run their drug-dealing operations.

Children are often taken out of Nottinghamshire and found in places such as Lincolnshire, London and Scotland.

Criminals use children and vulnerable adults to evade arrest, using intimidation and violence to keep them silent.

However, the County Lines team at Nottinghamshire Police are using all the powers at their disposal to ensure those at the top face prosecution.

The team have dismantled more than 30 drugs lines since December 2022.

In June, a major investigation saw a county lines gang jailed for a combined 130 years for exploiting youngsters across our city and county.

The group was actively selling millions of pounds worth of Class A drugs on an industrial scale in various towns within Nottinghamshire, as well as in neighbouring Derbyshire, Lincolnshire and Leicestershire.

A further drugs line connected with the gang was found to be active as far away as the Aberdeen area of Scotland.

Members of the gang sold heroin and cocaine to vulnerable addicts using bulk phone messaging and sophisticated marketing techniques.

The police investigation also revealed the gang recruited children as young as 16 to do the dangerous work of transporting and dealing the drugs.

While others were doing their dirty work, members of the group posed in photographs and professionally choreographed music videos flaunting their profits with expensive cars, watches and bottles of champagne.

Now they face a very different life behind bars, with their ill-gotten gains and lucrative lifestyle taken away from them.

Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner Gary Godden praised the work of Nottinghamshire Police’s County Lines Team and called for members of the public to remain vigilant to the signs of exploitation.

“We need to protect our most vulnerable young people from being exploited by serious organised criminals who force them to take huge risks involved in transporting drugs, often using the public transport network,” said PCC Godden.

“The County Lines team’s work to dismantle these unscrupulous gangs shows that this won’t be tolerated in Nottinghamshire.

“I recently launched Operation Safenet, in partnership with Nottinghamshire Police and NET to enhance safety on the tram network and this will also support the ongoing work tackle County Lines activity as well as keeping passengers safe generally.

“I would also urge public transport passengers to stay on the lookout for the signs of young people who may be being exploited and report any concerns to Nottinghamshire Police.”

Since December 2022, the County Lines team have closed 35 drugs lines – 24 of which through proactive operations.

During a week of action in June, the County Lines team made three significant arrests involving those believed to be fronting the operations.

Two addresses in Derby and one in St Ann’s were raided by officers, with suspects arrested for offences including conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and money laundering.

Valuables such as Rolex watches, high value jewellery, cash, and even gold teeth were seized as part of the operation.

A full investigation is now underway into their activity.

Assistant Chief Constable Leona Scurr said: “Criminals will often recruit children or vulnerable adults from our city and county.

“They will use manipulative tactics by making them feel special. This can include handing them cash or designer clothing to get them to run their drugs line.

“This is exploitation, and they will often end up using intimidation and violence to make sure they are stuck in this lifestyle.

“These are children, and criminals don’t care how they are treated.

“In the recent June court case, labelled Op Amidala, gang members flaunted their wealth while flooding communities with drugs and exploiting children.

“The gang posed with champagne bottles while the vulnerable people they exploited were trapped in horrific and degrading conditions.

“This is why as a force we are committed to ensuring your communities are free of these individuals. That they are caught and handed significant jail sentences.

“We want our neighbourhoods to be safe from those who exploit our young people.

“We want to ensure those who harm our communities the most by peddling drugs are caught.

“It is well-documented that drugs fuel other acquisitive crime such as weapon offences, burglary, retail thefts and anti-social behaviour and have a detrimental impact on the daily lives of our residents and businesses.

“This is why we continue to pursue anyone involved in this activity.”