Eighteen people are due to appear in court in Harrogate charged with conspiracy to supply class A drugs.
North Yorkshire Police said in a statement this evening that four of the 18 have also been charged with human trafficking of young people.
The charges relate to Operation Jackal, an investigation into county lines drug dealing between Harrogate and Bradford.
The accused are due to appear at Harrogate Magistrates’ Court on October 7 and 21.
‘County lines’ refers to drug dealers in towns and cities establishing supply chains in rural areas, often using young and vulnerable people to carry, store, and sell drugs.
The charges follow a policing operation in Bradford and Harrogate last year involving North Yorkshire Police, West Yorkshire Police, the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit, the National Crime Agency and the National County Lines Coordination Centre.
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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:
- Almost 90 arrests in three years as police tackle county lines drug crime
- Police drugs bust near Harrogate’s Valley Gardens
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.