County lines: Four arrests in Stafford and £85k in cash seized on national railway network
Four people were arrested at Stafford Railway Station during a national crackdown on county lines drug dealing, resulting in £85,000 worth of drugs seized on the public transport network.
The British Transport Police operation in the town also saw 15 'stop-and-accounts' plus 10 stop-and-searches including a wanted suspect who was carrying a knife and another man who fled from officers.
A man was subsequently stopped in the vicinity and found in possession of a knife and 10 wraps of suspected class A drugs.
Those arrested in Stafford were among a total of 69 on the railway network by the County Lines Taskforce last month.
Detective Superintendent David Udomhiaye, of the transport force, said: “Doubling down on county lines gangs and escalating our efforts in the war against exploitation is a priority for us. Through our work with colleagues from other forces we pool our wealth of resources and target our operations to actively disrupt criminal activity, making a significant dent in their enterprises.
“Thanks to our eagle-eyed taskforce officers we have safeguarded numerous individuals, both adults and children, offering them a way out from the grip of these evil gangs.
"We’ve also removed deadly weapons from the rail network and prevented huge hauls of drugs from entering our communities. Alongside this we’ve gained valuable intelligence that will ultimately lead to the demise of several county lines.“
The taskforce helped 30 vulnerable victims to places of safety, disrupted 20 county lines, and seized just under £85,000 in cash during a national week of action tackling drug supply and exploitation across the UK.
Officers were deployed at stations and on trains, as well as executing several search warrants at addresses resulting in 101 drug seizures including cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, ecstasy and ketamine.
They also seized 25 weapons from the railway including a viable firearm, an axe, machete and hunting knife along with 49 mobile phones used for drug supply.
The operations featured uniformed and plain-clothes officers, police sniffer dogs and metal detection arches.
It was part of national County Lines Intensification Week which ran from June 23 - 29 and saw 48 operations carried out across the railway network, some in partnership with local police forces.
