Latest news with #countyline
BBC News
3 hours ago
- BBC News
Rubery drug dealer worked to flood county with cocaine
A drug dealer who has been jailed for more than 22 years after going on the run was part of "a large-scale operation to flood Worcestershire with cocaine", police have Morris, 58 and from Maple Road, Rubery, was found guilty in October 2023 of conspiracy to supply class A drugs, and was jailed at Worcester Crown Court on Mercia Police said Morris had been part of an operation supplying drugs from the West Midlands to the Kidderminster and Wychbold areas and beyond to Jonathan Salmon told him he had been at the "top of the tree" in a conspiracy to run a county line into Devon, police said. 'Living at large' The court heard Morris had supplied a criminal group running the county line and had been a "wholesale supplier of cocaine to those lower down".Morris went on to evade capture for 15 months, the judge said, describing it as "a concerted attempt to evade justice".He said: "You were able to live at large and hide and spend monies from your criminal activities."He jailed Morris for 22 years and eight months in total. Police said Morris should have been in court to hear his conviction and face sentence on 21 November 2023 with other in a "last-ditch attempt to evade justice", he absconded and failed to attend court at the end of his trial. He was recaptured over a year later, police said that after his arrest, he had already delayed proceedings for two years when facing Insp Gareth Evans said Morris would now be pursued through the Proceeds of Crime Act to recoup money and belongings acquired through his criminal activity. Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Daily Mail
Moment police chase county lines drugs gang across 17th century estate before officers ram car in field
Police hunted a county lines drugs gang in the sunset across a 17th century estate before ramming their car in a field. Officers were hot on the trails of Connor Darwent, 27, wanted on suspicion of supplying Class A drugs when they spotted him driving on the A46 towards Lincoln. Intense footage shows a pair of two young men relentlessly pursued across a five-mile journey in their powerful BMW 1 Series. They finally spiral off a farm track and come to halt in the middle of a field which allows officers to ram the car head-on and jump out before smashing in the BMW's windows. The last ditch attempt to evade police came despite Darwent's tyres being shredded by a police stinger as he sped through the grounds of the 17th century Doddington Hall. Police point their Taser guns at the men inside in the car and shout 'stay there' and nobody move' before dragging them out roughly onto the grass. Darwent was a courier making regular journeys between Coventry and Skegness to reload the lucrative 'Abs line'. Police say the drug line was worth up to £252,000 to the gang who supplied around 5.8kg of cocaine to dealers and users. He was caught during the chase which took place on May 24, 2022, as he hurtled down country roads. Darwent, of Hinckley, Leicstershire, admitted conspiracy to supply class A drugs and dangerous driving and was jailed for two-and-a-half years on Thursday. Three other members of the gang were also sentenced after admitting conspiracy to supply class A drugs. Kirsty Reilly, 32, of Coventry, who drove the drugs from Coventry to Skegness, was jailed for three years. Sarah Makey, 47, of Skegness, received a 21-month sentence, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to do 80 hours of unpaid work. Her husband Nathan, 48, of Sheffield, dealt drugs and sent out marketing messages on his phone on behalf of the holder of the Abs line, Alistair Renwick. Renwick was jailed for nine years in April. Makey will be sentenced in August. Liam Tomkins, 25, of Hinkley, Leicstershire, was jailed for three-and-a-half years in his absence after failing to appear at court. The convictions mark the conclusion of a major operation to smash eight separate drugs lines which flooded Lincolnshire's coastal towns with crack cocaine and heroin. Lincolnshire Police launched the programme against organised crime along the county's east coast following an increase in gang violence in September 2022. Since then, more than 70 people have been arrested resulting in prison sentences totalling more than 120 years. Detective Inspector Will Tharby, of the Serious and Organised Crime Unit, said: 'Drug dealing reaches far beyond those directly involved in the exchange of money for drugs. 'Its ripple effects fuel antisocial behaviour, robbery, burglary, and violence-not just among those entrenched in the drug trade, but across entire communities. 'Families, neighbours, and local businesses all feel the weight of drug-related crime, facing its disruptive and often devastating consequences. 'We've dismantled a thoroughly harmful operation, taken drugs off the streets, and sent a clear message - criminal networks will not thrive in Lincolnshire's communities.'
BBC News
5 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Worcestershire county lines drug dealer jailed for eight years
A drug dealer has been jailed for eight years, bringing the county lines operation he was involved in to an end, police have Pearson, 19, formerly of Washington Street, Kidderminster, was sentenced earlier after pleading guilty to drugs and firearms offences at Worcester Crown lines refers to the name of a phone number or "deal-line" used to run a drug-dealing network. Pearson was involved in the EMZ line, later known as the MJ line, West Mercia Police the hearing, Det Con Paul Modley said illegal drugs brought "misery and harm", adding: "His arrest and conviction not only mean the line is terminated but also a viable firearm has been taken off the streets." Pearson was initially arrested on 12 September at a property in Cranham Drive, Warndon, Worcester, after reports he was supplying class A drugs there.A search of the building uncovered a handgun wrapped in a plastic bag in the kitchen and live 19 September, police carried out a safeguarding check on a drug user in Crickley Drive, Worcester, and a balaclava-wearing Pearson attempted to escape through a living room window, officers seized £1,470 in cash from his pocket, drugs paraphernalia and a phone containing text messages about drugs for sale. On 3 October, as officers carried out a warrant at a property in Brookthorpe Close, Worcester, they found Pearson in the toilet with the light off, potentially attempting to dispose of said he had with him a black bag containing crack cocaine and heroin with an estimated street value of about £6, admitted being involved in the supply of Class A drugs, possession with intent to supply Class A drugs, possession of an illegal firearm, and possession of prohibited also pleaded guilty to acquiring or using criminal property, for which he was given a 12-month jail term to run concurrently with the eight-year term. Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
The Sun
16-05-2025
- The Sun
Dramatic moment cops smash ruthless county lines gang forcing kids to smuggle fatal amounts of drugs in their bodies
TREMBLING in the back of a police car, a terrified 15-year-old boy begs for help from the officer driving. He has just revealed that ruthless drug dealers had forced him to hide 121 wraps of crack cocaine and heroin by inserting them into his body. 5 5 If the packaging on the bags had burst he would have died. He was picked up after being in an uninsured car alongside an older teen, who had already been dropped off, and was being taken back to the care home where he lived. Before being stopped by police in Bradford, he was en route to East Lancashire, where the drugs would have been sold. The teenager was being forced to work for the Max county line drug- trafficking network, which runs between Yorkshire and Lancashire — the counties that fought the Wars of the Roses in the 15th century. Fortunately, after a painstaking police operation, within weeks of his plea for help, the county lines operation that had ensnared him had been dealt a potentially fatal blow. Lancashire Police, with the help of West Yorkshire Police, stormed into five properties simultaneously to arrest key players of an organised crime gang, suspected of running the line. More than 50 cops across Bradford and Blackburn arrested five men, who were all charged yesterday with supplying a controlled drug. The Sun was with Lancashire Police as they arrested one of the suspects from a semi-detached property on a well-manicured road in Blackburn on Thursday. At 6.30am the four-man team from East Lancs banged on the door with cries of 'Police, open the door'. Curtains immediately twitched, but it was five minutes until the door opened. Oliver Harvey investigates the use of a drug smuggling submarine's journey from South America to Spain Within seconds, the officers were inside, and shortly afterwards marched out their suspect in handcuffs as his parents looked on. The home was searched, and the team found several phones inside. The man arrested was believed to be one of the gang's logistic experts who ensure smooth movement of kids and drugs. Detective Sergeant Stu Peall, who led the operation, told The Sun: 'The chap arrested in Blackburn is believed to be involved in the logistics of moving the people and drugs from Bradford into Lancashire. 'He made sure the car is insured, that it has someone with a valid driving licence driving, because the last thing the line wants is to lose product to the police because they've not sorted the transport properly. 'For county lines, transport is key.' 5 The force's East Exploitation Team used phone data to track the source of the drugs and identify all five men who were arrested on Thursday morning. They are accused of dealing crack cocaine and heroin in and around down-at-heel Blackburn and Burnley — which has a needle exchange so users can have safer injections. Drugs and teenagers were moved separately between counties, with the car journey taking about an hour, and the train just 44 minutes. This is the latest phase of Operation Warrior, which has seen Lancashire Police seize 616kg of cocaine, heroin and cannabis, alongside £4.3million of assets from crooks. DS Peall's team alone have secured 1,000 years of imprisonment over the last seven years. The people in charge of the Max line tried to avoid detection by keeping the drugs line phone in Bradford, across the border in West Yorks, but only dealing in East Lancashire. DS Peall explained: 'If you base a line [the phone] in one county, and deal in a different county, the intelligence flow becomes more difficult. 'It means the force that holds the drugs line won't know about it because the dealing doesn't take place there. Their informers will only know about stuff that is happening in that county, so it takes time to put all the pieces together. 'West Yorkshire Police have been fantastic working with us to get this line taken out, despite the best attempts of the criminals to hide it.' A county line running from Bradford isn't an uncommon find for the police, although they also get them from Greater Manchester and Merseyside as well. Bradford has become a hotbed for running county lines across the country, as far away as Exeter in Devon, and Edinburgh, as our graphic shows. Ds Peall said: 'The grim reality of county lines is that they exploit children and young people for their own gain. 'It's beyond horrible that the teenagers, and in this instance children, are told to insert drugs packages into themselves. 'The young lad who lived in a care home in Leeds was forced to put drugs in himself, and that is the cruel reality of what it means to take drugs across county lines. 'We also found a teenager from Bradford at an address in Bacup, in East Lancashire, with a woman he had no connection to. 'They claimed to be relatives, but it didn't add up, and we found that he was a vulnerable teenager from Bradford. He was then stopped in possession of Class A drugs a few weeks later.' 5 Many of the teenagers exploited by gangs are told to hide their drugs inside themselves to avoid detection when travelling, risking death if the packages burst. Bolton GP Dr Helen Wall said: 'It is incredibly dangerous and can be quickly fatal. 'If a packet leaks or ruptures, rapid absorption of cocaine or heroin through the rectal lining can occur. This can lead to drug overdose, which is life-threatening. 'Secondary to this, the sharp edges of some wrapping materials like plastic or foil can cause tears or abrasions. Anything inserted like this can introduce bacteria, leading to local infections, or in the worst cases, sepsis.' The teenagers face other dangers too, such as conflict with local rivals. DS Peall said: 'Often young boys aged 15 to 18 are running the drugs and being put into other gangs' patches. 'There will be friction with the local drug dealers in East Lancashire at these teenagers moving into their territory and disrupting their lines within the county. 'It causes a lot of violence between different groups, and these kids are being exploited and put in danger in all sorts of ways.' Lancashire Police focus on safeguarding the children who have been coerced into county lines and work on helping them to rebuild a life away from criminality. DS Peall said: 'The last thing we want is to put a vulnerable kid through the court system.' He has a message for anyone who is caught up in the illegal trade. He said: 'If you are being forced into running drugs, speak to your family. Open up about it and then come to the police. 'We can help. We can support you. You're being exploited, even if you don't think that is the case.' Rachel Seabrook, Policy and Public Affairs Manager at The Children's Society charity, said: 'Children from all backgrounds, some barely out of primary school, are being groomed and forced into the dangerous world of county lines by ruthless criminals. 'Once trapped, they face horrifying threats of violence, humiliation, or even criminal charges against themselves or their families. 'The trauma from this brutal exploitation can devastate young lives, causing lasting damage to their mental health, ruining friendships and destroying relationships. 'These children are not criminals, they're victims who have been robbed of their childhood and freedom.' But the police are determined to tackle the gangs behind the childhood exploitation. Having disrupted multiple county lines, DS Peall issued a warning to drugs gangs plotting to get a foothold in East Lancashire. He said: 'It won't work. As long as there are teams like mine, you won't get away with it.'
