Police take down ‘county lines’ drug deal phone line advertising to Harrogate addicts

Police in Harrogate have taken down a “county lines” phone line used to advertise drugs to local addicts.

Drug dealers in Leeds and Bradford used the line to advertise crack cocaine and cocaine for sale in Harrogate. It was known as the “Danny” line.

Phone lines like the “Danny” line allow out-of-town heroin and cocaine dealers to send mass text messages promoting their drugs for sale, and when and where they can be picked up.

When a mobile phone is seized from suspected drug dealers, numbers and associated contacts can be reactivated within hours. However, taking down the whole line and removing the number from circulation permanently means drug dealers can no longer advertise.

The line was taken down after officers applied to Newcastle County Court for a Drug Dealing Telecommunications Restriction Order (DDTRO) on Wednesday.

Read More: 

County lines is where drug dealers from urban areas exploit vulnerable people, including children, and force them to deal drugs in smaller towns and cities.

Inspector Penny Taylor of North Yorkshire Police, said:

“These orders are a helpful disruption tactic to interrupt the flow of drugs. The orders allow us to take down the line and remove the phone number from circulation permanently, meaning it cannot ever be reactivated on another device, depriving the dealers of the key means to sell their drugs.

“Drug dealing and the associated exploitation of vulnerable people is a foremost priority for North Yorkshire Police and we will continue to target dealers who prey on the vulnerable and cause misery in our communities.”

The action is part of a wider Harrogate-based investigation into drugs supply known as Operation Network. Since August 2020, Operation Network has seen 18 people arrested.

Pilot panel to help victims of slavery and exploitation in North Yorkshire

A new panel is to be set up to support for victims of trafficking and exploitation in North Yorkshire.

The pilot project involves the creation of a new local panel which will make decisions on protecting and supporting adult and child victims.

The panel has powers to create specialised support, which may include protection from their traffickers or other criminals, accommodation, access to legal advice and emotional and practical help. Previously, these decisions were made by the Home Office.

The Harrogate area has had a long standing problem of gangs using vulnerable children to move drugs over county borders and sell them in the town.  The children or vulnerable adults are recruited with gifts or money and then locked into the criminal network through the use of violence, intimidation, debt and grooming.

There have also been cases of modern slavery in the district. In September last year six workers were rescued from a take-away in Ripon after residents raised concerns about their living conditions.

Read More: 

The new twelve month panel will be run by North Yorkshire County Council and the City of York Council with input from other organisations including NHS bodies and North Yorkshire Police.

Jess Markwart, manager for multiple vulnerabilities with North Yorkshire County Council said:

“Many people may be surprised to learn that modern slavery affects North Yorkshire, as well as the rest of the UK, but sadly, that is the case.

“The creation of this panel gives us powers locally to make decisions on keeping victims safe and removing them from the criminals’ control. The local agencies involved with the panel will have local knowledge and context and will be well placed to put in place the best possible support to keep people safe and protected from traumatic circumstances.”

Rose Howley, head of assessment and targeted intervention with the City of York Council’s Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) said:

“The new, multi-agency panel enables decisions to be made quickly and effectively on keeping child victims safe from exploitation and serious criminal activity.

“It also means we can draw on a range of services and expertise in the county to put in place the right kind of support; whether that’s legal advice, help with safe accommodation or emotional support.”

Possible signs that a child is experiencing a form of harm, such as exploitation, include a change in behaviour, such as becoming unusually withdrawn, secretive behaviour, having more money, clothes or other items they usually couldn’t afford, or being seen in places they shouldn’t be during school hours or normal term-time.

Teens arrested in Harrogate after Kinder eggs stuffed with heroin found

Police in Harrogate have arrested two boys aged 15 and 16 after finding Kinder eggs stuffed with suspected heroin and crack cocaine.

Plain clothed officers from North Yorkshire Police‘s county lines drug dealing unit Operation Expedite noticed the boys acting suspiciously on Thursday.

The suspects ran away but were caught after a chase on foot.

A police statement today said when officers caught the boys they found two Kinder eggs stuffed with suspected heroin and crack cocaine wraps, as well as knuckle dusters.

Police believe the unnamed boys, who are both from West Yorkshire, are involved in bringing drugs from another county into Harrogate.

Police arrested the 16-year-old on suspicion of possessing class A drugs with intent to supply, possessing cannabis and possessing an offensive weapon.

The officers also arrested the 15-year-old on suspicion of supplying class A drugs.

They were released on conditional bail pending further enquiries.

County lines is where drug dealers from urban areas exploit vulnerable people, including children, and force them to deal drugs in smaller towns.

It takes its name from the mobile phone lines used by dealers to communicate between towns and advertise their drugs for sale.

Read more:

Five arrests in Harrogate during county lines action week

Police made five arrests in Harrogate as part of last week’s national operation on county lines drug dealing.

The arrests began on May 17 when plain clothes officers on patrol around Avenue Grove in Starbeck found class A drugs on a man behaving suspiciously.

That arrest led them to a nearby property, where they found and searched three other men. The officers found drugs stashed in a mattress, £200, drug paraphernalia and three phone.

On May 22, a man in his 40s who had breached his prison licence was arrested and returned to jail.

Later the same day, police arrested a man in his 30s on Otley Road, who officers thought was driving erratically.

The suspect failed a roadside drug wipe and was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs and possession of class A drugs. He was released under investigation.

Read more:

County lines is where drug dealers from urban areas exploit vulnerable people, including children, and force them to deal drugs is smaller towns and cities.

It takes its name from the mobile phone lines used by dealers to communicate between towns and advertise their drugs for sale.

North Yorkshire Police also made arrests in York, Whitby, Thirsk, Scarborough, and on the A1 motorway.

Police also made 87 welfare visits to 95 vulnerable people.

Officers seized a total of £10,000 plus heroin, cannabis, pregabalin and a large quantity of suspected cocaine believed to be worth several thousands of pounds.

North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Philip Allott said he welcomed the action taken, adding:

“But we should be under no illusions about the scale of the challenge we face from these organised criminals who bring tragedy to communities and scar our society.

“Ensuring we take prompt action to educate and enforce is one of my priorities as commissioner.”

Chief Inspector Lorraine Crossman-Smith coordinated North Yorkshire Police’s involvement in the action week. She said:

“I hope the people of North Yorkshire are reassured that we mean it when we say drug dealing is a priority and that we will take action when they report information to us.”

Three men arrested in police drugs swoop in Harrogate

Police arrested three men on suspicion of drug offences in Harrogate yesterday as part of a crackdown on county lines drug dealing.

According to a statement today by North Yorkshire Police, plain cloth officers on patrol in the Avenue Grove area of Starbeck had their suspicions raised by the activity of a man.

He was stopped and searched and found to have class A drugs on him.

Officers then searched a nearby property where they found three other men who were also searched.

Read more:

A police statement said:

“Officers recovered more drugs stashed in a mattress, £200 in cash from one of the men and other suspected drugs paraphernalia including three mobile phones. A fourth man was also arrested on suspicion of theft offences.”

A 39-year-old Harrogate man was arrested on suspicion of possessing class A drugs. Another man from Harrogate, aged 38, was arrested on suspicion of theft, possessing class A drugs and being concerned in the supply of class A drugs.

A Leeds man, aged 50, was arrested on suspicion of possessing heroin with intent to supply. He has been released on bail while enquiries continue.

A fourth man, aged 26, from Harrogate, was arrested on suspicion of a number of theft offences.

The three men arrested on suspicion of drug offences have been released while under investigation as further enquiries are carried out.

The police statement added:

“Members of the public are urged to report any suspicious activity about drug dealing in their neighbourhood to the police on 101. Or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. Always call 999 in an emergency.

“Police are also urging people to report any signs that someone they know is being exploited by criminals and forced to work for them. 

“This can include what is known as ‘cuckooing’, where drug dealers take over the home of a vulnerable person – who are often drug users themselves – and use it to store and sell drugs.”

Harrogate county lines drug runner jailed

A Harrogate drug runner linked to the county lines trade has been jailed for 20 months after he was stopped by plain-clothed officers.

Christopher Hollowed, 54, who has a long criminal history, had been dealing heroin and crack cocaine on the streets of Harrogate under the auspices of his drug bosses, York Crown Court heard.

Prosecutor Matthew Collins said under-cover officers in an unmarked police car spotted Hollowed and another man approaching each other in the street.

They exchanged, “by way of a short handshake” known as a “hand-off”, a drugs packet.

Read more:

The officers approached the two men, but they ran off in separate directions. They recognised Hollowed immediately and caught up with him, seizing cash.

The other named man was detained and officers found two wraps of heroin and crack cocaine on him.

Hollowed’s fingerprints were later found on the drug wraps, suggesting he had sold the drugs to the other man.

Police searched a local block of flats where Hollowed lived as part of a wider investigation into county lines drug-dealing and so-called “cuckooing”, the practice by which drug dealers take over the homes of addicts and use them as bases for their dealing operations.

One such “vulnerable” man, who lived a few flats down from Hollowed, was found in one of the rooms along with Lee Bavin, a county lines dealer.

Bavin was found with several wraps of heroin and crack “similar in type, consistency and amounts” to the ones exchanged in the earlier street “hand-off”, said Mr Collins.

The prosecutor added:

“It’s clear that this means that Mr Hollowed was acting as a runner, moving drugs (from that flat) to the..street.”

In January, Bavin, of Manchester Road, Bradford, was jailed for 21 months for his part in this street-dealing operation and received an extra 43 months consecutively after being convicted of further drug-dealing offences as part of a wider county lines network. He is now serving a total five-year jail sentence.

Read more:

Bavin, who had been active since at least 2018, was snared as part of North Yorkshire Police’s Operation Expedite. He was part of a wider network of Bradford-run dealers and drug runners targeting Harrogate and flooding the town with heroin and crack cocaine. He was initially arrested in September 2018 as he travelled in a white Mercedes heading for Harrogate.

Hollowed, of Mount Parade, ultimately admitted two counts of supplying a Class A drug following his arrest on January 9 last year. The court heard he had 105 offences on his record including 10 for drug possession.

Imran Khan, for Hollowed, said his client had an “entrenched” drug addiction dating back over 20 years which had taken a heavy toll on his health.

He claimed that Hollowed was a “vulnerable” man who had been exploited by drug suppliers higher up the chain and had played a lesser role in the dealing operation.

Recorder Alex Menary said that county lines dealing “in this part of North Yorkshire is something of increasing prevalence”.

He added that, “unhappily, the buying and the supply is carried out by known, vulnerable drug users like (Hollowed)”, while the main players “kept their hands clean”.

He told Hollowed:

“In the pre-sentence report you made plain that that is your life now. You were a (drug) runner.

“Anyone who involves themselves in dealing Class A drugs in broad daylight must expect a custodial sentence.”

Hollowed will serve half of the 20-month sentence behind bars before being released on licence.

Heroin dealer in Harrogate jailed for five years

A man has been jailed for more than five years for dealing drugs on the streets of Harrogate.

Andrew Paul Christian Brown, 46, was arrested in the Montpellier Hill area of the town on 17 September last year by officers from North Yorkshire Police’s Operation Expedite team.

He was charged with supplying heroin on dates in 2019 and 2020, as well as possessing criminal property – namely more than £700 found in his underwear following a search by officers.

Brown, whose address was listed as HMP Hull, pleaded guilty and at York Crown Court on Friday was jailed for five years and seven months.

In addition, the court ordered that £716 be confiscated from him, and he must also pay a victim surcharge.

Read more:

DC Tom Barker, of North Yorkshire Police, said:

“Brown’s conviction and prison sentence should send a very clear message to anyone who is involved in county lines drug dealing in our area: North Yorkshire Police will target you and make it extremely difficult for you carry out your criminal activity.

“Harrogate is one of the safest places in the country, and officers here are working hard to keep it that way.”

North Yorkshire Police’s Expedite team specialises in county lines drugs offences.

Anyone with information about drug dealing in their area can contact North Yorkshire Police on 101. If you prefer not to speak to the police and remain anonymous, you can pass information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org.

Arrests soar as ‘county lines’ investigations continue

Almost 140 people were arrested across the Harrogate area in the last six months of 2020 as police investigations into county lines drugs continued.

North Yorkshire Police has prioritised the crime through Operation Expedite, based in the town, to deal with drug dealing and the exploitation of vulnerable people.

As a result, 137 arrests were made between July and December 2020. Of those, nine people have been jailed for a total of almost 23 years. Sentences ranged from six months for possessing class A drugs to five years and four months for supplying class A drugs.

The number represents a significant rise towards the end of last year. An investigation by the Stray Ferret last year revealed there had been 88 arrests since 2018, including 30 in the first nine months of 2020.

Detective Sergeant Tom Barker, who has worked on the Operation Expedite team for the past three years, said:

“As well as disrupting criminals, our work is also about protecting vulnerable people. We can’t do that alone and our close work with partner agencies is vital to getting them the help they need. From housing to help with a drug or alcohol addiction, it’s important that the people who need it are given help and those who exploit them are brought to justice.

“Information from members of the public is also key in helping to shape operational activity. So please don’t thing you are ever wasting our time by calling something in. Just because we don’t come tearing down the road with blue lights on, doesn’t mean we are not using your information.

“Drug supply investigations can take a long time, and the more evidence we have, the sooner we can act and take another dealer off the streets.”

County lines crime often sees vulnerable people, including children, exploited by criminals using violence and intimidation. They are known for ‘cuckooing’, the term used for taking over someone else’s home to deal drugs, and often give the person free drugs in order to create a ‘debt’ which can be used to the criminal’s advantage.

Officers on Operation Expedite say the number of arrests made last year shows that drug dealing is not welcome in the Harrogate district and will be dealt with strongly, even during lockdown.

Read more:

Superintendent Steve Thomas, Commander for the Harrogate, Craven, Richmondshire and Hambleton areas, added:

“I am incredibly proud of the work being done every day by Operation Expedite staff and their colleagues who support them across the district.  They have faced the risks of operational policing in a time of unprecedented challenges throughout the pandemic and continue to do so.

“However, this is not a time to rest on our laurels and I want to reassure the local residents across the district that we will be working even harder over the coming months to make Harrogate a very hostile environment for those who think it’s ok to make money exploiting vulnerable people and ruining lives.”

Cash and mobile phones have also been seized as part of the operation

Cash and mobile phones have also been seized as part of the operation

North Yorkshire Police is asking the public to remain vigilant for signs of drugs crime or exploitation. It said typical signs of trouble in young people could be an indication that someone is being exploited, such as going missing, having unexplained money, clothes or phones, or receiving high volumes of calls or messages.

Any change in emotional well-being, or spending time with new, older friends, could also be an indication that someone is being targeted.

Meanwhile, neighbours who notice an increase in visitors at a property, growth in anti-social behaviour, curtains being closed for long periods or unfamiliar vehicles coming and going could also be witnessing cuckooing.

To report suspicious activity, call North Yorkshire Police on 101 or, to report information anonymously, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

Bradford to Harrogate county lines drugs: two men arrested

Two men have been arrested as part of a major police investigation into the supply of drugs from Bradford into Harrogate.

It brings the total number of arrests under Operation Jackal, the name give to the initiative, to 19.

North Yorkshire Police revealed today officers from its organised crime unit and West Yorkshire Police arrested the men aged 26 and 23 in Bradford on Wednesday.

A police statement said:

“Both men were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to supply class A drugs, human trafficking under the Modern Slavery Act and money laundering.

“Officers also seized a number of mobile phones and sim cards as part of their enquiries. The two men have been released on conditional bail while further enquiries are carried out.”

The arrests follow 11 made in Harrogate and six in Bradford in February as part of Operation Jackal.

Read more:

North Yorkshire Police has also taken civil action to take down three phone lines operating between Bradford and Harrogate, which were believed to be part of county lines drug dealing.

The force successfully obtained three drug dealing telecommunications restriction orders, which allowed officers to take over a phone line and give them powers to disconnect it on a specified date and time.

The police statement said:

“These valuable, protected and often branded phone lines allow out-of-town heroin and cocaine dealers to send mass text messages advertising their drugs for sale and when and where they can be picked up.

“Taking them out means no adverts, no sales and no profit for drug dealers.”

Eighteen suspects remain under investigation. One has been released with no further action taken. The investigation continues.

Almost 90 arrests in three years as police tackle county lines drug crime

Police have made 88 drug arrests in the Harrogate district in a targeted operation against county lines activity since January 2018.

The figures, revealed after a request under the Freedom of Information Act by the Stray Ferret, show the number of arrests grew as officers sought to reduce drug dealing and protect vulnerable people in the district.

In 2018, there were only seven drug arrests relating to county lines activity in the Harrogate district, but in 2019 this increased to 51. Up to the end of September 2020, the force reported 30 drug arrests relating to county lines activity.

County lines crime sees drug dealers from more urban areas exploit vulnerable people, including children, and force them to deal drugs in smaller towns and cities. It is a serious and growing issue for the police in Harrogate, with a dedicated team convened under Operation Expedite in April 2018 to tackle it.

Chief Inspector Andrew Colbourne of Harrogate and County Command said:

“There are a whole range of complex issues that have intensified over the past few years as the issue of ‘county lines’ has infiltrated our local communities. We work with numerous partner agencies to provide an all-round approach to disrupting county lines and safeguarding vulnerable people.

“We have dedicated teams that target the supply of drugs and work alongside partners to protect vulnerable people on a daily basis. All our staff are committed to the safety of vulnerable people and victims of crime as well as carrying out focused disruption of those intent on causing harm.”

North Yorkshire Police said county lines is not a recorded crime type so the link in the records is down to human interpretation. The figures only include drug arrests, rather than those for other related crimes such as assault.

Read more:

The force said it is proactively working to protect victims of cuckooing, where drug dealers target vulnerable residents and use their home as a base for selling and storing drugs. Victims of cuckooing are often subjected to violence and intimidation.

Children are also common victims of county lines activity and police are also working to safeguard them from grooming by dealers pushing them to help sell and transport drugs. If children try to refuse, police said they can be subject to physical and psychological abused.

Chief Inspector Colbourne added:

“Members of the public can help us by looking beyond the obvious, someone you might associate with antisocial behaviour and troublesome visitors, might just be very scared and exploited. Or, on the surface, a young person might appear to be a trouble-maker, but they could be a scared victim of abuse and be trapped in a criminal world that they can’t escape from.”

The police said the public can offer vital information that results in arrests. To report suspected drug dealing, call the force on 101, or speak anonymously to Crimestoppers by calling 0800 555 111.