Met Police: Over 200 arrested in county lines crackdown

The Met Police says it has made more than 200 arrests and seized over £1m worth of drugs during a week-long crackdown on county lines gangs.

Between 27 February and 5 March, 105 people were charged, with a total of 223 charges made.

Officers seized 35.9kg of drugs, over £650,000 in cash and 51 weapons including swords and machetes.

Police say 177 vulnerable people, some of them children, have been safeguarded and 77 lines are being closed.

Det Supt Rick Sewart, lead officer for county lines in the Met, said county lines - a supply model which traffics drugs into rural areas and smaller towns, away from major cities - was "intrinsically linked to homicide and serious violence.

"Eighty percent of county lines offenders charged with drug trafficking this year have previously been arrested for violence," he said.

"County lines networks prey upon children and young people, trafficking them and subjecting them to modern slavery involving horrendous emotional and physical abuse."

The Met says that "instead of criminalising these children, officers work with rescue and response to ensure they are safeguarded and supported".

Since November 2019, the Met said it had closed more than 1,800 lines and arrested over 3,300 offenders.

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