Portsmouth in 'top 4' places for London county lines with 98 people linked to city

Analysts from City Hall who tracked more than 3,200 exploited young people aged up to 25 in a two-year study found the city is one of the top four destinations for London dealers.

Increased numbers of crack and heroin peddlers were involved in the city in the second year of the study, with 98 recorded in a report.

Hampshire saw the most out of any county, with 413 people linked to the illicit trade – including 113 in Southampton and 83 in Basingstoke.

Senior police repeatedly stress county lines is a national problem.

The City Hall report is not exhaustive but gives an indication of how many such criminals are operating in Portsmouth.

Crime commissioner Michael Lane told The News operations are being undertaken ‘day by day’ to stop serious and organised criminals involved in abuse and enslavement.

He said: ‘The criminals and controllers of those lines are the ones that we want to intervene (in) as that makes the longer term difference.’

Mr Lane added it was not always possible to ‘advertise our successes’ in tackling gangs.

Police last month joined an intensification week where county lines operations were targeted, making large seizures of class A drugs in Gosport and elsewhere in the county valued at £45,000.

Chief Superintendent Nigel Lecointe confirmed offenders arrested were from London, Dorset and Kent.

He said county lines – the supply of drugs from bigger cities to smaller regional centres – caused ‘misery for our communities’.

Drug-linked violence has spilled out into city streets with stabbings, and two years ago a gang were jailed for a combined 95 years for a shooting in Crookhorn.

READ NEXT: Closure order granted at property linked to county lines dealing

Concerns have also been raised by residents. One woman in North End, who did not want to be named, said: ‘There is clearly a huge problem in the city that needs to be tackled.’

Violence reduction units were set up in late 2019 in the county's top tier authorities in a bid to curb serious violence, including that linked to drugs.

Portsmouth City Council has been using Home Office cash to boost youth charity Motiv8 and the council’s early prevention work - leading to them helping ‘an extra 40 young people’ at risk of being exploited by gangs in the drugs trade.

A council spokesman said: ‘We work with young people on a one-to-one basis, giving them emotional support and building up their ability to resist involvement in crime. We're aware of the City Hall report and this will help inform how we respond to this issue.’

Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan said the fight against county lines ‘is made much harder with Hampshire Constabulary being the second-worst funded force in the country’.

He said Portsmouth getting 18 extra police was not enough, given 1,000 had been lost in Hampshire due to budget cuts.

The MP said: ‘If the government is serious about bringing down crime and addressing the issues our communities face as a result of county lines, our city needs its fair share of investment.’

Operation worth £450,000 brought crashing down

A COUNTY lines operation worth up to £450,000 was brought down by police.

Dealers sent out 14,780 texts to addicts advertising their wares for sale between November 2016 and April 2017.

The bulk advertising texts were sent out to Portsmouth drug users under pseudonyms such as Lewis The Landlord and Ricky.

Addicts responded to the texts arranging to buy the substances.

Previously officers have taken over the valuable phone lines in Portsmouth – sending out 800 messages with details for support services instead of adverts for drugs.

As reported, six members of a London gang selling crack and heroin in Portsmouth were convicted at Portsmouth Crown Court.

Among them was Terrell King, 25, of Alexandra Place in south east London, who prosecutors said was the most senior out of those they caught.He was jailed for seven years this summer, having admitted to conspiring to supply class A drugs between 2016 and 2017.

Other members who acted as runners were spared jail.

County lines exploitation

CHILDREN as young as 12 have been put to work by exploitative criminals.

Youngsters are preyed upon to run drugs on the street, putting them at risk of arrest or violent attack by rival gangs.

Youth services in the city and wider Hampshire are working to divert them away from appealing offers made by gangsters, who lure them in with expensive trainers or even food.

Detective Chief Inspector Nick Heelan previously told The News criminals seek to ‘exploit young and otherwise vulnerable members of society through violence, fear and intimidation’.

This can include taking over addicts’ homes in a process known as cuckooing – setting up a local base of operations.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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