Phoebe the police drugs dog had a successful shift in Shotton yesterday

North Wales Police exploitation team joined colleagues from Flintshire North Neighbourhood team at Shotton railway station on Tuesday for a drugs-related operation.

Police were also joined by Phoebe the “person scanning drugs dog” – a number of arrests were made during the course of the operation.

A police spokesperson said: “As well as being popular with members of the public, Phoebe had a successful shift: a number of arrests were made for a variety of offences.

From detecting modern day slavery to our school education initiative, this is one of many proactive policing initiatives we undertake to make our communities safer.”

[Phoebe the police drugs dog]

Rail networks are a favoured transport method for County Lines gangs who use children to courier drugs and money across the country.

A high proportion of these children travel on trains sometimes as young as 12, travelling long distances alone.

The so called ‘County Lines’ model see’s organised crime groups (OCG’s) 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, particularly by young drug runners using the rail networks.

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.

Group messages are often sent out periodically to the customer base to advertise the availability of drugs and special deals in return orders are placed back to the phone line.

Phone line is usually controlled by senior group members who tend to be located in the urban hub to avoid local police, these phone lines can generate thousands of pounds daily.

County lines groups will target new area’s and premises by pursuing vulnerable people who attend recovery groups, dependency units and areas associated with those experiencing problems according to a report by the National Crime Agency.

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