Coventry police joined by Home Secretary Suella Braverman in crackdown on city's drug dealers...

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The Cabinet Minister spent time with police in the city during a crackdown on county lines drug dealing



Home Secretary Suella Braverman swapped Westminster for Whoberley when she joined police on a series of raids this week. The Cabinet Minister spent time with West Midlands Police officers during a crackdown on county lines drug dealing operations in the city.

Ms Braverman was in attendance as officers from Coventry Police joined specialist colleagues to execute five warrants across the city on Wednesday, October 11. Several cannabis factories, with a combined street value of more than £850,000, were reportedly shut down. More than 850 plants and nearly 6kg (13lb) of dried cannabis were recovered.

"We know that drugs, whether it's class A – cocaine or heroin or crack cocaine – or cannabis, cause extensive misery and devastation to communities and individuals and we’re determined to stamp it out," Ms Braverman said. The Home Secretary spoke about the scourge of county lines crime with several senior policeman including Superintendent Ronan Tyrer.

The raids formed part of a national effort to disrupt county lines gangs which tend to deliver drugs from densely-populated cities to smaller towns and rural areas, often exploiting young, vulnerable people along the way. More than 1,600 suspected members of county lines drug dealing gangs were arrested across England and Wales during the one-week initiative.

Class A drugs worth £1.2 million, the same amount in cash and more than 100kg (220lb) of cannabis was seized. A total of 458 weapons were seized, including 33 firearms, 377 knives, three crossbows, 21 batons and 28 knuckle dusters, and 250 phone lines were closed down.

A total of 710 people, including 58 children, were referred to safeguarding services as possible victims of exploitation by the gangs. County lines dealers use dedicated phone lines to take orders from customers. They are notorious for exploiting children to work as drug runners and for taking over the homes of vulnerable people to store illegal substances.

Commander Paul Brogden, the National Police Chiefs' Council lead for county lines, said: "County lines drug dealing destroys lives, and we are committed to tackling the supply of illegal drugs, and the exploitation and violence that is frequently associated with it.

"Our message is clear to anyone running county lines across the country – we will be relentless in our pursuit of you, we will shut down your county lines, we will take drugs off our streets, and we will rescue those who are being exploited by you."

Since a national county lines programme was launched in 2019, 4,755 lines have been closed, 14,887 arrests made and 7,267 children or vulnerable people referred to safeguarding services. Mr Brogden said the reality of being in a county lines gang is nothing like that portrayed in popular TV series such as Toy Boy.

"Series' such as Top Boy glamorize what is effectively a life of crime; this is violence, this is exploitation," he said. "This is not being a gangster, it’s about being exploited and being drawn into a life of crime, often that ends in misery. It’s incredibly violent. It’s an unsafe place to be."