More than 20 arrests as police in Dudley crack down on county lines drug dealing

West Midlands Police said officers in the area had targeted 14 lines, which often involve drugs being stored or transported by children or vulnerable people who are coerced by criminal gangs.

There have also been seven convictions, with offenders being jailed for a total of almost 30 years, while the remaining suspects from the 21 arrests made are now awaiting sentencing or trial.

Police have also launched a major new operation to target serious and organised crimes like drug dealing, burglary, cyber-crime and fraud across the West Midlands.

Operation Target sees officers working alongside other forces and the regional organised crime unit.

Sergeant Rich Galbraith, of the serious organised crime team at Dudley Police, said: “County lines drug gangs run highly organised and sometimes sophisticated set-ups, so we have to be methodical and joined-up in our approach to tackling them.

“We’ve worked together across different departments and disciplines throughout the force, linking in with the county lines taskforce as well as response, traffic and neighbourhood teams.

“It’s been a collective effort and we’re hitting these gangs where it hurts – disrupting their trade and taking their drugs out of circulation, and making arrests and putting the perpetrators behind bars."

He added: “County lines drug dealers care nothing for the destructive effect their actions have on the lives of the people they exploit nor for the damaging impact on the communities in which they ply their trade.

“Their only concern is profit, which they chase ruthlessly no matter the hurt caused to others. But we’re equally relentless in our pursuit and we’ll continue to coordinate our efforts against them.

"This includes working with members of the public and we’re grateful to them too for the support they provide in helping us to identify county line gangs acting in their neighbourhoods.

“We’re determined to bring down these so-called businesses wherever we find them operating.”