Officers carried out eight warrants and arrested 12 people during County Lines Intensification Week in Hart & Rushmoor and Basingstoke.

The week of intensification, which ran from Monday 23 June until Sunday 29 June, saw officers focus their efforts on County Lines.

County Lines is a term used to describe organised criminal networks that move illegal drugs out of larger cities into smaller towns and cities in the UK, using dedicated mobile phone lines.

They are likely to exploit children and vulnerable adults to move and store the drugs and money, and they will often use coercion, intimidation, violence and weapons.

During the intensification week, teams in Hart & Rushmoor and Basingstoke carried out proactive warrants, operations, patrols and stop checks.

Some of the highlights are below:

• Tuesday 24 June: A warrant was executed at Queens Road, Aldershot. £3,500 in cash was seized, along with 230 bags of cannabis and 24 bags of suspected Class A drugs. 62 nitrous oxide cannisters and five phones were also seized. A 26-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply a controlled drug of Class A and possession with intent to supply a controlled drug of Class B. A 19-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply a controlled drug of Class B, possession with intent to supply a controlled drug of Class C and acquiring / using / possessing criminal property. They have been bailed with conditions, pending further enquiries.
• Wednesday 25 June: Officers arrested three people after attending an address on Birchett Road, Farnborough. Suspected Class A drugs and more than £1,000 in cash was seized. A 43-year-old woman and a 41-year-old man were arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of a Class A drug. They have been bailed, pending further enquiries. A man was charged with two counts of possession with intent to supply a controlled drug of Class A. He has been remanded in custody and is due to appear at Winchester Crown Court on 30 July.
• Thursday 26 June: A warrant was carried out at an address on Bishopswood Road, Tadley. Officers located a large hatchet style knife and cannabis. All items were seized. A 29-year-old man was handed a community resolution for the cannabis and our enquiries remain ongoing.
• Sunday 29 June: Two men were arrested following a proactive stop in Basingstoke. A 42-year-old man and a 41-year-old man were arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of a Class A drug. They have been bailed with conditions, pending further enquiries.

Police Sergeant Victoria Bolan, from the Hart and Rushmoor Priority Crime Team, said: “Our officers have been out disrupting County Lines drug dealing in the district.

“This is a priority for my team, and we do everything we can to prevent the exploitation of children and vulnerable people. We made a number of arrests, disrupted drugs lines and took a considerable amount of drugs off the streets.”

Police Sergeant Karla Leese, from the Basingstoke Priority Crime Team, said: “Where there are drugs, there is almost always violence which is why tackling and disrupting the supply of drugs, especially through County Lines, is a vital part of our work to reduce violent crime and keep people safe.

“As well as making arrests, we also carried out safeguarding operations with a focus on exploited children. Please continue to tell us about any suspected drugs activity in your neighbourhood so we can safeguard children and vulnerable adults and bring offenders to justice.”

To read more about CLIW, and how officers arrested 57 people as well as dismantling 12 drug lines across the force area, click here: County Lines drug gangs targeted during intensification week | Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary

To make a report in relation to drug-related activity, you can contact us on 101 or make a report via our website at https://www.hampshire.police.uk/

If you don’t want to report to the police directly, you can report to the charity Crimestoppers 100% anonymously on 0800 555 111 or via their website at https://crimestoppers-uk.org/

For information on spotting the signs of exploitation please visit The Children Society’s website https://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/what-we-do/our-work/child-criminal-exploitation-and-county-lines/spotting-signs