POLICE have arrested a number of people from the Reading area as they seek to clamp down on human trafficking of children and the drug dealing.
On Tuesday, July 18, members of the British Transport Police (BTP) County Lines Task Force conducted an undisclosed number of raids on properties in the region, as well as executing warrants in Camberley and Milton Keynes.
They said they arrested eight people and seized a substantial quantity of Class A and B drugs, as well as money and mobile phones which they believe are linked to a County Lines drug supply.
The warrants were part of an investigation launched in February after three teenagers were located at London Paddington, and concerns were raised that they were being exploited by a County Lines drug network.
County Lines refers to the drug dealers create cross-town networks for the supply and sale of drugs and using vulnerable people to carry, store or sell them.
The arrests delighted Detective Inspector Matt Davies from the BTP County Lines Task Force.
“We are pleased with the excellent results of this operation and it is a credit to our team, the arrests we have secured. Working alongside our colleagues from other forces enhances our capabilities to catch those orchestrating these County Lines,” he said.
“The County Lines Task Force works hard to tackle drugs on the railway network and to protect children and vulnerable adults who are often exploited by gangs into selling or moving drugs.
“It should display a very powerful message to those involved in this sort of activity: we will find you, you will be arrested and we will disrupt the distribution of drugs by County Lines dealers.”
