More than 30 people have been arrested in a major police crackdown on county lines drug dealers in York and Selby.
Large quantities of class A and B drugs were seized during the two-day operation, one of the largest North Yorkshire Police has ever been involved in. Vehicles and dangerous weapons were also recovered, the force said.
The operation - a collaboration with Merseyside Police called 'Project Medusa' - was rolled out in York on Wednesday, January 10, and Selby on Thursday, January 11, in a bid to disrupt dealing and safeguard vulnerable people.
By the end of the campaign, 32 people had been arrested.
Both North Yorkshire Police and Merseyside Police combined to deploy more than 100 officers during the operation. Intelligence teams, proactive disruption, police dogs and drones as well as local policing and specialist roads policing officers made up the team.
North Yorkshire Police said an increase in plain clothed and uniformed patrols intercepted drug deals on the streets. There was also a specialist strike team using automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technology to intercept vehicles linked to drugs.
York Rescue Boat also supported the operation by providing additional river safety patrols on the River Ouse.
In one incident during the operation in York, police say they identified a man and a woman in Kingsway who were said to be linked to drugs supply. Officers stopped the pair and found a quantity of what is suspected to be a class-A drug, the force said.
A 37-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply a class-A drug. A man, 43, was also arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of a class-A drug, possession of a class-A and class-C drug and possession of a weapon and theft. Both were interviewed and released under investigation, police added.
When officers searched the home address of the 43-year-old man they arrested a second man, 24, on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of a class-A drug. He was interviewed and released on conditional bail, the force added.
Detective Chief Inspector Carol Kirk, from North Yorkshire Police, who led the operation, said: "Project Medusa is one of the largest operations that North Yorkshire Police has ever seen. It’s firmly had our approach of protecting communities and safeguarding the vulnerable at its heart.
"At the start of the new year these results are extremely positive and will go a long way to improve the quality of life for people in our communities.
"But this is two days of activity, and we won’t stop here. We will continue our relentless pursuit to protect our communities from harm and ensure that North Yorkshire remains one of the safest places to live."
Inspector Stephen Morris, from Merseyside Police, said: “We regularly deploy to other force areas to target county lines drug dealing, and this operation with North Yorkshire shows the results that can be achieved when working jointly to target those involved in this type of criminality.
“The arrests and seizures made during this operation should act as a stark warning to county lines offenders. My message to those involved in county lines is clear – we have a zero-tolerance approach to serious organised crime, and we are relentless in our pursuit of those involved.”
If you are a young person who is worried about being involved in county lines, or knows someone who is, police say you can speak to an adult and let them know how you feel.
You can also contact www.fearless.org which allows you to pass on information about crime anonymously.
You can also contact Childline on 0800 1111.
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