On the frontline as police crackdown on county lines drug gangs

But while we were enjoying the summer sunshine, police officers were on the front line tackling a contemporary and alarming form of exploitation which is sweeping seaside towns across England.

In July, Dorset Police launched a campaign to raise awareness of the on-going threat of county lines.

Last week 30 arrests were made in the county when Dorset Police joined forces across the country in a 'national week of action' to crack down on county lines drug gangs operating in the area.

Recently the Echo joined Police Sergeant Andy Jenkins and Police Constable Billy Taylor of Weymouth Neighbourhood Policing Team, as they hunt down drug gangs operating in Weymouth.

ON THE FRONTLINE

Entering the flat, an overwhelming stench of stale smoke and rotting cat food is apparent. The small flat feels cramped and in disarray as every surface is littered with rubbish, interspersed with needles, pill packets and smoking paraphernalia.

FOUND: PC Billy Taylor holds a 'cooking spoon' and needles

In the centre of the room is a homecare bed and two wheeled chairs, standing in contrast to the chaos around them – the only indicator of the flat’s former use.

The property was the last home of a disabled woman, but after her death in it has become a ‘nest’ for one of the most sinister and concealed forms of criminal exploitation operating in Weymouth.

'County lines' is a term used to describe urban gangs supplying drugs to other parts of the UK using dedicated mobile phone lines.

Urban dealers will use runners to distribute the drugs meaning they never pass through their hands and are difficult to track down.

The flat came to the attention of police after a neighbour reported a ‘funny smell’ and a concern for welfare for *Sarah, a known drug user and the young woman who has been living there since her mother’s death.

When Sarah answers the door to officers, they find two other local drug users and two men from London.

The local users leave the flat after being strip-searched but the Londoners – one barely out of his teens and flagged as a missing person the other with a history of violence - are placed under arrest and sit hunched and hooded on the sofa.

DETAINED: Two men from London were arrested 

They are suspected of being county lines dealers and ‘cuckooing’ Sarah’s home.

Cuckooing is when a drug dealer from out of the area takes over the home of a vulnerable person and uses it as a place to sell, supply or store drugs.

After a property is cuckooed, relationships often turn violent with vulnerable people being subjected to both physical and sexual assault.

“These runners come from urban areas. They will be given the address of a known drug user and that person, being a class A addict, is vulnerable. They are open to financial reward or are offered drugs to allow people to stay at the address," Sergeant Jenkins says.

PC Taylor tells me runners will carry up to 100 wraps of crack or heroin in their anal cavity which will then be removed and made ready for sale to some of the three to four hundred people currently using in Weymouth.

Each wrap will be sold for £10 with the average user consuming two or three wraps a day.

"There are SIM cards everywhere - keeping us on our toes. Each time we close a line another immediately appears. They run it like a business. They will pay other drug users to supply them with a list of names and they will send out a mass text with the drugs they have and what their deal is," PC Taylor says.

He adds local runners who know the area are often then used to circulate the drugs.

The officers begin a thorough search of the flat, aided by a specially trained police dog - springer spaniel Ajax - in hopes of finding enough evidence to solidify their suspicions these are county line dealers. Almost instantly they come upon needles, crack pipes, homemade bongs but most disturbingly a large serrated blade – hidden down the side of the bed.

SEARCH: Police dog, Ajax searches the flat

“It’s a legal weapon to possess,” says PC Taylor. “But it’s worrying. It’s why we need to target county lines. Not just to target drugs but to tackle the violence that comes with it.

"More and more dealers are using phones with encryption which costs us a lot of time and money to get through. It's so important we get information like this from members of the public saying 'something is not quite right.'"

POLICE CRACKDOWN ON DRUG DEALING GANGS

Between October 8 and 14 Dorset Police and partner agencies conducted a week of action to crack down on county lines networks operating within Dorset.

Four golf ball-sized amounts of suspected crack cocaine and heroin, with a street value of around £15,000, was seized in Weymouth and more than £23,000 worth of drugs and cash were seized elsewhere in the county.

The week of action led to 30 arrests - five were charged, 21 were released under investigation, two were transferred to other forces, one was released without conviction and one was remanded in custody regarding a warrant.

During the week police also targeted vulnerable people conducting 39 safe and well checks in the community.

This week two men were jailed after attempting to transport £20,000 worth of amphetamines to sell in Weymouth.

Anthony Battle, aged 55, of Norfolk Road, Weymouth, was stopped and searched by police at an M6 service station.

Police found 1.94kg of amphetamines hidden in a petrol can in his car which he had collected from Liverpool and was ferrying back to Weymouth the same day – a task which he was paid £300 to do.

He was jailed for four months being concerned in the supply of amphetamines.

James Murphy, aged 31, of Lower Close, Halewood, Liverpool was sentenced to three years and nine months for possession with intent to supply amphetamines and cannabis and money laundering.