Vale of Clwyd MP Dr James Davies has hailed last week’s major crackdown on County Lines a great success and called for more to be done “to stop criminals operating in our towns”.
Officers from North Wales, Merseyside and British Transport Police (BTP) joined forces on Friday in a crackdown on County Lines Organised Crime Groups (OCGs) responsible for cross border drugs supply and the criminal exploitation of vulnerable people.
Applauding the operation, which saw a large number of visible Merseyside and North Wales Police resources operating in Rhyl and other local areas, and resulted in numerous arrests and the seizure of drugs, bladed articles and mobile phones, James said:
“One of the most important things is for people to feel safe. We need to ensure vulnerable people are not exploited and that criminals are stopped from operating in our towns.
“Following the operation, I spoke to Home Secretary Priti Patel MP, who emphasised the devastating impact County Lines has on our communities and spoke of the UK Government’s partnership work to disrupt the criminal gangs who are exploiting vulnerable children and adults through this appalling crime.”
Priti Patel, who was at the Friday morning briefing on the operation in Liverpool, also said:
“In October 2019, I announced a targeted County Lines initiative to establish dedicated law enforcement intenstifications to disrupt and shut down the highest harm County Lines in the three main exporting forces areas including Merseyside Police to target 60 county lines.
“We want the perpetrators of county lines drug gangs taken off our streets to put an end to this exploitative and violent criminality that destroys lives and communities.”
James added:
“I very much welcome the commitment of the Home Secretary in attempting to tackle this major problem in our towns and also commend the efforts of all those police officers who took part in Friday’s operation, displaying their total commitment to protecting vulnerable members of society who may fall prey to organised crime gangs, and making our communities safe”.