Drugs worth £2.5m seized in county lines crackdown

A huge cannabis farm was discovered during the raids that netted £2.5m of drugs, in Herefordshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire and saw 68 people arrested

More than £2.5m worth of drugs have been seized and 68 arrests made during a crackdown on county lines in Shropshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire.

West Mercia Police worked alongside social services and charities to carry out a series of raids, during which 29 adults, believe to be victims of cuckooing, were given protection.

The BBC joined officers at a Kidderminster property that was searched after concerns were raised that the occupant had been forced by a gang into storing or selling Class A drugs, including cocaine.

Intelligence suggested a man in his early 60s with disabilities was being preyed upon, with neighbours spotting cars turning up throughout the day, the force said.

Vehicles had been tracked via number plate recognition cameras with some spotted being driven from Birmingham, which led police to link it to an ongoing drug supply line.

When the warrant was served, the occupant and a younger woman were questioned.

A small quantity of cocaine was discovered, along with an imitation firearm.

The condition of the flat was described as dirty, with no carpets or curtains, food left on plates for days and used drug paraphernalia.

The raids were carried out as part of the week-long crackdown

"What we found, the risk involved, we want to safeguard [the occupant and woman]. I don't think custody would be the right place, so we've obtained lots of evidence to forward to social services urgently," said PC Kane Baker.

"When you're a drug user you can be easily targeted by county lines gangs because the motive is there. This is what you will find with a cuckooing address."

St Giles Trust, a charity based in the Midlands, accompanied the police on some of the raids in Telford.

Over the past year, the trust has supported more than 5,000 children and young people who fell victim to exploitation, many related to county lines operations, with some as young as 11.

Jade Hibbert, the charity's Midlands regional development manager, said: "We offer intensive one-to-one mentoring, group and youth work, that's delivered out in the community.

"We'll do everything possible to help them, see them in a place that's safe for them."

Jade Hibbert, from the St Giles Trust, said social media was a key factor in gangs' exploitation of young people

She's urging parents and guardians to monitor young people's social media use.

"The best way to spot signs of child exploitation is be educated on the internet…it can be an enemy and a gateway for perpetrators to target, access and abuse children," she added.

"TikTok, Instagram and X are platforms young people are using every day, perpetrators of exploitation know this."

She said other signs of exploitation can include a young person joining an older friendship group, changing the way they dress or using more street-like language.

Dangerous weapons seized

West Mercia Police previously brought down a county lines drug gang in Worcester and Malvern.

In October, 10 men and women were sentenced to a total of more than 60 years in prison.

Known as the 'H' line, it was connected to 'Kam' line, which saw six of its members jailed for more than 40 years in February.

While county lines are an ever-present for the police, they said they're employing more sophisticated intelligence-gathering.

During the week of action, they made 110 visits to properties, seizing 20 dangerous weapons and drugs with a street value of £2,528,860.