Home Secretary Priti Patel joined police in person during a County Lines drugs raid in Brixton in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Officers from the Met Police and Sussex Police arrested a 20-year-old man for drug related offences and searched an address in Brighton Terrace, locating a phone believed to control a drugs operation, as well as a quantity of Class A drugs.
The Met Police have a team running ‘Operation Orochi’, which is dedicated to targeting so called ‘linerunners’, people in charge of running drugs across county lines.
This team led the raid that the Home Secretary attended.
She said: “I have made rolling up County Lines drugs gangs an absolute priority and today I have seen first-hand the impact of our investment in the police.
“The police will continue having my full support in the fight to keep the public safe.”
County Lines are a form of organised crime where vulnerable young people are coerced to transporting and selling drugs in towns across the UK.
The government pledged £25m to fighting County Lines drug operations across the country, which has so far led to more than 2,600 arrests.
Met Police Detective Chief Inspector Ant Jones said: “Operations like this have been so successful through the strong relationships between forces committed to stopping County Lines drug routes.
“Through this approach we are able to disrupt and dismantle these lines from the centre and protect the vulnerable children and adults who are often coerced into running substances across the UK on behalf of these networks.
“This collaborative approach has enabled us to target and arrest County Lines criminals more than ever before. This activity will increase and intensify in the coming weeks as we continue to bring those responsible for this criminality to justice.”
Sussex Police Detective Chief Inspector Will Rolls added: “Police activity is only one part of the solution, as we need to reduce the demand, prevent our children and young people being drawn into using drugs and support those addicted to these lethal substances.”
