West Yorkshire gang in Harrogate drugs push

A driver is stopped by police in Harrogate

A criminal gang from West Yorkshire is trafficking drugs into Harrogate leading to an increase in violent crime, police have said.

North Yorkshire Police say they have identified "a pattern of increased drug dealing" and associated violent crime.

Operation Roll, set up in response, has led to nine arrests. Of these, four people have been charged.

Det Ch Insp Fionna McEwan said: "Driving this gang out of Harrogate is now a key priority for us."

Det Ch Insp Fionna McEwan says her team is intent on driving the gang out of Harrogate

Emma Glasbey, BBC Yorkshire's Home and Social Affairs Correspondent, joined the Operation Roll team on patrol in Harrogate.

During our time with them, we witnessed a vehicle being stopped, with an uninsured driver from Bradford, claiming he and his passengers had come to the market town for coffee. In that instance, no drugs were recovered and no arrests made, although a large sum of cash was found.

Since the launch of the operation in early June, officers have seized drugs, an electric stun weapon, cash and a mobile phone.

Ms McEwan said the 'county lines' gang was "sending across young people into Harrogate" in order to deal Class A drugs to "the local drug market".

County lines is a term used to describe gangs and organised criminal networks who are involved in exporting drugs, using dedicated mobile phone lines or other forms of a 'deal line', according to officers.

Lines are often run by a gang who are usually associated with violence, drug dealing and exploitation, they said.

Ms McEwan added: "Young people are being used from West Yorkshire to come in with the drugs locally and that's causing us real concerns."

Officers were also observed by the BBC visiting known drug users said to be at risk of coercion by the gang.

Ms McEwan said Harrogate remained "one of the safest places" to live in the country, but warned against complacency.

The BBC witnessed a large sum of cash being recovered from a car

She added: "This type of drug-related crime has no place in our community. I would like to reassure the public that I don't believe there is a significant risk to local communities.

"The increased level of violence that we have seen recently has been targeted towards individuals who are involved in drug-related criminality.

"Driving this gang out of Harrogate is now a key priority for us and although we have seen success so far, there is more to be done."

Ms McEwan urged the public to remain vigilant for signs that younger or vulnerable people are being exploited by drug gangs.

If you or somebody you know has been affected by this story or are worried about issues around drugs, there is advice and guidance available on the BBC Actionline website.