Teenager charged and gang jailed as Bedfordshire Police cracks down on county lines drug supply

A teenager has been charged with drugs supply offences and two drugs gangs have been jailed in the space of a week.

As part of the national county lines crackdown, 104 people were arrested and a number of weapons and drugs were seized across the eastern region.

And in Bedfordshire, officers charged a 17-year-old boy with possession with intent to supply Class A drugs. He has been remanded into custody, pending a future court appearance.

On Wednesday, September 16, Bedfordshire Police also secured a total of 15 years in jail terms for three men involved in running county drugs lines from Bedford into Cambridge.

The week before, two men from Dunstable were jailed for more than eight years after an investigation led by Hertfordshire Constabulary into a drugs line selling drugs in Hertford and Buckinghamshire, as well as across Bedfordshire.

In Bedfordshire, 25 people have been charged with county lines related offending over the past year.

And on Thursday, September, 17, Bedfordshire Police officers also joined their counterparts from the British Transport Police to target Luton railway station and raise awareness of county lines and the exploitation that comes with it.

They spoke with train station staff members around the signs to spot and how to engage with people they feel may be at risk.

Detective Chief Inspector Louisa Glynn said: “We will continue to make Bedfordshire a hostile place for county lines gangs. It is our job to stamp organised crime out and protect vulnerable and young people from being exploited.

“We will continue to work with our partners, including transport providers and businesses, to reduce exploitation, but we would encourage people to be aware of the signs and report anything suspicious.

During last week’s intensification week across the eastern region there were:

*104 individuals arrested

*119 safeguarding interventions

*Weapons seized, including knives, baseball bats and knuckle dusters

*Drugs seized, including crack cocaine, heroin, MDMA and amphetamine in large sellable amounts, along with 10kg of cannabis

*85 addresses of suspected vulnerable individuals visited

*£30,000 cash seized

If you see anything suspicious, report it via 101 or here