More than £20,000 in cash has been seized after a joint operation targeting a suspected county drugs line into Cambridge.
Bedfordshire Police's Boson guns and gangs team worked with Cambridgeshire Constabulary and Thames Valley Police to conduct the warrant at an apartment block in Milton Keynes last Tuesday (3/11).
The operation targeting a suspected drugs line recovered around £22,000 in cash.
The operation was launched after a teenage boy was recently found in Cambridge in possession of drugs.
Detective Inspector Mark Pugh, from Boson, said: “County lines has real and long-lasting consequences for the young people involved.
“Vulnerable young people are coerced and trafficked to distant towns to run drug lines for 24 hours a day, for days or weeks at a time, while their exploiters make thousands of pounds of profit.
“Boson is committed to pursuing those criminal gangs that export county lines from Bedfordshire, while working with our partners and communities to reduce the risks and divert vulnerable children away from exploitation.”
Two men and a woman were arrested and later charged with drugs supply offences and remanded into custody. Detective Chief Inspector Aaron Kiff said: "Drugs continue to be the most significant driver of serious violence, with drug dealers often exploiting children and vulnerable people and bringing harm to our communities.
“The national cost to society is estimated at £19.2 billion, with this threat increasing due to the global availability of drugs being at an all-time high.
“Drugs supply drives the county lines model of Class A and B dealing, which unfortunately incorporates the use of violence and exploitation of children and other vulnerable people to supply drugs at a local level. Children remain a key component of these business models.
“We will continue to work tirelessly in order to identify those being exploited in order to safeguard them, while being relentless in our approach of apprehending offenders and ensuring that justice is served.”
Detective Chief Inspector Chris O’Brien from Cambridgeshire Constabulary added: “This operation was part of our continued efforts to disrupt county lines drug dealing in Cambridge.
“We remain committed to working with other police forces and partner agencies to make it clear to dealers that their activity will not be tolerated in our county. We are committed to bringing dealers to justice and safeguarding the vulnerable people they prey on.
“Drugs ruin lives and are often associated with other crimes such as violence, burglary and theft. We are determined to do all we can to combat drug dealing and make the county safer for everyone.”
Anyone with information about drug dealing, county lines or child criminal exploitation can contact police on 101 or report the incident online.
All of these reports are fed into police intelligence systems and can help officers build up a better picture of organised crime.
You can also report information anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
For more information or support about getting out of a gang, please visit VERU.
