Early morning drugs raids in Flintshire target ‘county lines’ gangs

Officers from North Wales and Merseyside Police have carried out 24 warrants in North Wales, Merseyside and Scotland as part of an operation targeting Serious Organised Crime and County Lines drug supply.

Operation Tide is focused on those who deal Class A drugs such as heroin and crack cocaine.

Searches are understood to have been carried out at 24 properties during early morning raids in Flintshire, Conwy, and Anglesey, coordinated raids have also taken place in Liverpool and Scotland.

[North Wales Police Superintendent Mark Pierce talks to reporters in Garden City this morning]

More than 300 police officers from three forces have taken part in the operation.

North Wales Police said it will release more details about the operation later today. 

County Lines Gangs

The so-called county lines model sees organised crime groups (OCG’s) from inner city areas like Manchester and Liverpool establish a network between their urban hubs and county locations.

A key feature of county Lines drug supply is the use of a branded mobile phone line which is established in the marketplace and promoted throughout the existing customer base.

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

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

Police depend heavily on ‘community intelligence’ and need information from local residents about drug dealing or suspicious activity in your area.

If you have information you can report it to police by calling the 101 number or reporting it via the North Wales Police website follow this link.