Guns, knives and drugs seized as 32 are arrested during county lines crackdown

Class A drugs, knives and other dangerous weapons were seized when officers raided several properties in York and Selby last week.

The force also said a “specialist strike team” was deployed to stop cars carrying suspected drug dealers, while undercover officers went after people dealing on the streets.

More than 100 officers from North Yorkshire Police and Merseyside Police were involved in the two-day operation, known as Project Medusa.

During one of the raids, two people, aged 44 and 33, were arrested in Selby on suspicion of possession with intent to supply a Class A drug, possession of criminal property and possession of an offensive weapon.

Another saw an underwater search team recover a weapon which was allegedly thrown into a canal in Selby.

A 21-year-old man was then arrested on suspicion of possessing a firearm and a 35-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of possessing a firearm and possession with intent to supply a Class B drug.

County line gangs are groups of drug dealers who travel from major cities to sell in small town like Harrogate and Knaresborough, using dedicated phone lines, known as county lines.

The force said it has shut down dozens of lines in recent years as the county is frequently targeted by gangs from cities in Yorkshire, Merseyside, Manchester and London.

They often use children and other vulnerable people to traffic and sell drugs, but also coerce them into committing acts of extreme violence.

Detective Chief Inspector Carol Kirk 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 the arrests “should act as a stark warning” to county lines dealers.

“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,” he added.

"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.”

Former Children’s Commissioner Anne Longfield has previously warned that thousands of children across the country have been affected by an “epidemic” of exploitation, with primary school pupils as young as nine being used to run drugs.