Hundreds of County Lines drug networks dismantled in major national crackdown

Led by the National County Lines Coordination Centre (NCLCC), forces and regional organised crime units joined together for a week of targeted activity combining enforcement, safeguarding, and partnership work with charities and local agencies.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council said the latest week of targeted action, which ran from March 2 to March 8, saw some of the “best results to date”, including 2,180 arrests for drug supply, modern slavery and weapons offences, 335 drug lines shut down, and more than 1,300 vulnerable people safeguarded, including almost 800 children.

More than £1.5 million in cash was seized and over 180kg of Class A drugs recovered (9.28kg crack, 86.87kg heroin, 84.65kg cocaine), together with around 15,000 cannabis plants seized.

County Lines describes organised criminal networks that move illegal drugs between areas using dedicated phone lines, often relying on violence, exploitation and the coercion of vulnerable people, including children, to run their operations.

The operation focused heavily on missing children, exploitation prevention, and building community resilience against County Lines harm.

Commander Paul Brogden, national policing lead for County Lines and gangs, said: “Tackling County Lines is a top priority for UK policing.  These criminals are violent, exploit vulnerable people, and cause serious harm to communities.

“During last week’s intensification activity, policing shut down 335 drug lines, made over 2,000 arrests, and seized over 199kg of Class A drugs and hundreds of dangerous weapons. This united effort sends a clear message to offenders.

“This work forms a core part of our National County Lines Policing Strategy to prevent exploitation, protect vulnerable children and adults, and pursue violent offenders involved in drugs, modern slavery, knife and weapons crime.

“We continue to work closely with partners such as Catch22 and the Children’s Society to prevent young people being drawn into high‑harm criminality and to support those already exploited.

“Although this intensification week has concluded, our commitment has not.  We remain relentless in targeting those involved in County Lines criminality.”

Crime and Policing Minister Sarah Jones added: “Joining officers on a county lines raid during County Lines Intensification Week showed me first-hand the courage, precision and dedication that go into protecting our communities and keeping our streets safer.

“The Government is committed to halving knife crime and tackling violent and exploitative county lines gangs is crucial to achieving this.

“These results prove without doubt the impact of that work – every deal line closed means violence and exploitation prevented and drugs and weapons off our streets.

“Through the County Lines Programme, we are targeting exploitative drug dealing gangs and breaking the organised crime groups behind the trade.  The Programme has a proven record of delivering impact with record numbers of lines closed and gang leaders charged in the last year. We will continue to work with forces to dismantle these ruthless gangs.”

“County Lines Intensification Week is an opportunity, not only to disrupt ongoing exploitation but also to identify young victims and protect them from future harm.”

The Association of Police and Crime Commissioners Serious and Organised Crime portfolio leads, Lisa Townsend and David Allen, said: “We are delighted to see such significant numbers of criminals, drugs and lethal weapons taken off the streets as a result of this week of action, and so many vulnerable people safeguarded. County Lines business models are about the supply and sale of drugs, but these results show how much other associated criminality can be successfully tackled at the same time.

“Police and crime commissioners (PCCs) and deputy mayors are determined to address the blight drugs inflict on communities and the harm experienced by those – often children – who are exploited by County Lines gangs under the threat of violence.

“These results show what can be achieved. It is vital policing works with local authority, education and criminal justice partners year-round to target these destructive criminal operations. On behalf of the public, PCCs will continue to hold chief constables to account on prioritising the fight against County Lines drugs gangs.”

James Simmonds-Read, national programme manager at The Children’s Society, said: “Thousands of children go missing every year, and every hour they are away increases their risk of sexual abuse, violence and criminal exploitation, such as County Lines.

“Too often missing children are being failed – their return home seen as the end of the ordeal rather than a chance to understand what led them to go missing and how they might be at risk of exploitation. These underlying reasons must then be tackled with ongoing, tailored support to stop them going missing again.”