Hampshire police arrest 17 drug dealers in Portsmouth and seize £10,000 worth of drugs

Police focused for two weeks on county lines – disrupting 17 networks across Hampshire and getting an order to shut a phone line.

In one case police found class A drugs in a man's Southsea hotel room.

Detectives had gone to the hotel on February 7 suspecting his booking was a breach of Covid-19 regulations and he was arrested for fraud offences before the drugs were found. He’s been bailed.

Along with the 17 arrests in Portsmouth, 16 people have been safeguarded by police – including eight children.

Across Hampshire, officers arrested 88 men and 12 women – 13 of those arrested were children – and most were arrested for being concerned in the supply of class A drugs. Some £1m in drugs were seized, with 100 arrests.

Some arrests have seen modern day slavery investigations launched, police said.

In Portsmouth police carried out 26 county lines-linked stop and searches with three vehicle stop checks.

Officers seized 28 phones and more than £15,000 in cash.

As reported, the city’s high harm team worked with British Transport Police and the Ministry of Defence Police arresting suspected dealers at Fratton station.

Inspector Scott Johnson from Portsmouth’s high harm team said: ‘Portsmouth is a busy city, and is a safe place in which to live, work and visit – but like most towns and cities up and down the country, we have experienced issues with County Lines drugs networks and associated activity such as knife crime and violent assaults.

‘The two weeks of intensification serves to further our ongoing proactive approach to disrupting the supply of drugs within our communities.

‘We know that drug dealing and violence are inextricably linked, as highlighted across the fortnight with the recovery of several knives, and that is why tackling the supply of drugs – especially through county lines – is a crucial part of our work to reduce violent crime.’

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County lines sees dealers use a mobile number to send out texts advertising crack cocaine and heroin.

Children and the vulnerable are trafficked and exploited into running the drugs, and vulnerable people and addicts’ homes are taken over as a base of operations.

Neighbourhood police officers across the county identified 42 vulnerable people and safeguarded six of these after visiting cuckooed addresses.

Hampshire police said the force has ‘developed a deeper understanding’ of county lines over the last 18 months.

Nine weapons including machetes, knives, CS gas, an air rifle and BB gun were seized by police in the two-week period.

Raids were carried out in Portsmouth, Fareham and Gosport – among other areas – with 82 phones, and £53,000 in cash seized.

Work involving the Metropolitan police has led to nine convictions and 25 lines being dismantled in a year, with 69 youngsters at risk identified.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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