Wiltshire is no place for drugs after County Lines intensification week reaps results

Wiltshire's Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Wilkinson has reinforced the commitment to ridding the county of illegal drugs following a successful operation in the county.

Officers from Wiltshire Police joined colleagues from across the country as they focused their efforts on dismantling and disrupting gangs dealing drugs in towns and villages as part of County Lines Intensification Week (February 27 - March 5).

Fifteen arrests were made and Class 'A' drugs with a value of around £28,000 were seized as part of a number of raids with over £17,000 cash also being seized, alongside seven drugs networks disrupted. Officers also conducted 38 cuckooing and vulnerability checks, obtained one closure order, and performed 128 focused patrols of hotspots.

County lines is a term used to describe gangs and organised criminal networks involved in exporting illegal drugs out of bigger cities into smaller UK towns and rural communities, often using dedicated mobile phone lines or other ‘deal lines’.

The gangs often recruit children, young people, and vulnerable adults to move and store drugs and money, exposing them to a world of coercion, intimidation, violence, and weapons. Dealers may also take over the home of a vulnerable person as a base for drug dealing, a situation commonly referred to as “cuckooing”.

Wiltshire's Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Wilkinson praised the work of the officers saying:

Drugs have a huge detrimental impact.

"From the exploitation of children and vulnerable people to gang culture, violent crime and associated anti-social behaviour, the ripples are felt in every corner of the county.

"I’ve been given a clear message by the people of Wiltshire that they want the drugs and the dealers off of our streets and together, we will make sure that happens.

"Successful operations like this will hammer home the message to County Lines gangs that Wiltshire isn’t a soft target when it comes to drugs and our work with neighbouring forces should make it clear that the entire region is no place for drugs"

Officers from Wiltshire Police's Fortitude Team, as well as the Roads Policing Unit and neighbourhood policing teams, worked together to shut down cross county drug networks who use mobile phones to supply drugs from large cities to towns and rural areas. They carried out warrants on properties in Swindon, Bradford on Avon and Devizes.

Det Supt Ben Mant, of Wiltshire Police, said: “These are excellent results and mean that thousands of pounds worth of drugs have been removed from the market.

“We disrupt County Lines all throughout the year, however during County Lines Intensification Week in particular we work with our partners and other forces to target these organised networks which bring so much misery to our communities and prey on the most vulnerable members of society.

“It is my hope that the public are reassured by our ongoing efforts and the tireless work by officers and staff across the Force in tackling this type of organised criminality.

“Our work will always continue against the distribution of drugs in our county.

“However, we can’t be everywhere, and we need the public’s help to report any suspicious activity in their neighbourhood. I would urge anyone who suspects drug gangs operating in their area to contact us.”

Published Friday 10 March 2023