County Lines: ‘horrible weapons’ and class A drugs seized in Holywell raid

North Flintshire Police team executed a warrant at an address in Holywell on Tuesday.

Police say an 18-year-old male from the Merseyside area was taken into custody following the raid in what they have described as a ‘County Lines’ incident.

Officers seized “several hundred pounds worth of heroin” – they also found weapons including an axe, small sword and hunting bow at a property in the town.

A police spokesperson said:

“Holywell residents, we have executed another warrant at an address in your town today and have recovered yet more Class A drugs, this time it was several hundred pounds worth of heroin.

An 18-year-old male from the Merseyside area has been charged.

Another County Lines Incident stopped through intelligence generated on the ground by your local PCSOs, who are integral in keeping the community safe.

County Lines Drug supply not only brings misery to users through addiction and the community through crime but increased violence too.

Look at all these horrible weapons we have taken off the street.”

The so called ‘County Lines’ model see’s organised crime groups often from cities such as Liverpool or Manchester establish a network between their urban hubs and county locations.

North Wales is a particularly easy target for the OCG’s due to the regions proximity to major hubs and the logistical ease in which drugs can be ferried around, by young drug runners who are known to use rail networks as the predominant mode of transport.

Young people are being coerced, groomed and threatened with violence to take part in Class A drug dealing activity across North Wales.

As well as information from PCSO’s police depend heavily on ‘community intelligence’ and need information from local residents.

If you have information about any suspected criminal or suspicious activity in your area, you can report it to police by calling the 101 number or reporting it via the force website follow this link.