Latest 'county lines' sentence welcomed

Justin Julian Smith, 23, was sentenced to four years and eight months in prison this week for taking £2,000 worth of crack cocaine and heroin into Shrewsbury from Birmingham.

Smith, of Cornfield Drive, Birmingham, admitted possessing Class A drugs with intent to supply.

His co-accused Odane Campbell, 23, of Frinton Grove, Birmingham, was given an eight-month sentence suspended for two years after he pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs.

It is one of many recent convictions for men who have travelled from the West Midlands over the county border with the intent to sell drugs. Police say the phenomenon has been on the rise in Shropshire, and there is a dedicated team working on the issue.

Local policing commander for Shropshire, superintendent Jason Wells, explained: “So called ‘county lines’ sees city drug dealers attempt to move their drug dealing into smaller county towns using a dedicated phone line to orchestrate their dealing.

"In order to infiltrate local communities they will adopt a practice known as cuckooing which sees organised crime groups target vulnerable people in our local communities, taking over their property to deal drugs.

"Unfortunately some of our towns in Shropshire are no different to other rural towns right across the country and it is something we have seen an increase in and are proactively targeting.

“Over the past year a dedicated team based in Shrewsbury has worked tirelessly to tackle this sort of organised crime and protect people in our communities and I would like to reassure people across the county that this work will continue, the team has already had some great results with more than 200 people arrested and significant drug seizures.

"Our absolute priority is protecting our communities from those who cause the most harm and ensuring those who need our help and support have it.

"We're determined to ensure organised crime is not happening in our communities and our efforts to crack down on county lines in our rural towns will not stop. We will continue to take action against those dealing in our county and protect our communities from those causing the most harm."

“If anyone has any information about county lines activity then we would urge them to get in contact with us or alternatively they can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111."

Tatenda Masawi, 25, of Bilston, was jailed last month for three and a half years at Shrewsbury Crown Court after bringing class A drugs into Bridgnorth to sell.

Earlier in the year, two people were arrested in Oswestry in raids to stamp out county lines dealing. Meanwhile a house in the town that was used as part of a drugs ring has been closed down by police.