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09
Mar 2023
Police seize £100,000 cash in crackdown on Harrogate 'county lines' drug dealing
Police found £100,000 in cash as part of a week of action targeting county lines drug dealing around Harrogate.
The discovery was made at a property in Leeds, which was raided along with three others in the city and in Kirk Deighton, to disrupt links to Harrogate.
County lines crime sees organised gangs target vulnerable people, such as drug users, people with mental or physical disabilities, sex workers, or single mothers. They are often victims of 'cuckooing', where the gangs take over their homes and use them as a base for dealing drugs across county borders.
North Yorkshire Police tackles the issue under its Operation Expedite unit and, as part of a National Crime Agency initiative, carried out a "week of intensification" at the beginning of March.
As well as the cash recovered, it saw three people arrested for offences relating to drug dealing and handling criminal property. All three – two men aged 19 and 41, and a woman aged 26 – have since been released under investigation.
A 32-year-old who attended a police interview voluntarily was released with a warning for possession of cannabis.
Detective Chief Inspector Andy Simpson, who coordinated the week of activity in North Yorkshire, said:
To report information anonymously, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.
Any young person worried about being targeted by county lines gangs can call Childline in confidence on 0800 1111.
Read more:
- 'If you swim with sharks, you get bitten,' judge tells Harrogate cocaine dealer
- Photos show how Albanian drugs gang transformed Harrogate home into cannabis farm
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