TEN people were arrested more than £3,500 in cash, 60 wraps of class A drugs and a machete seized during a week-long police crackdown on county lines drugs gangs.

Officers from Wiltshire carried out welfare checks on 19 cuckooed addresses in the county which had 13 vulnerable youngsters and 25 vulnerable adults living in them.

The dedicated crime team and community policing teams made several arrests and seized large amounts of cash and drugs as part of a nationwide week lead by the National Crime Agency and National Police Chiefs’ Council.

On Wednesday January 23, officers from the DCT went to a property on Homington Avenue to carry out welfare checks following reports a dangerous drug network was working from the address and had cuckooed the householder.

They found around 20 to 30 wraps of crack cocaine and heroin, a machete, around £2,000 in cash and several mobile phones, and arrested arrested three men on suspicion of supplying class A drugs. They took a 21-year-old from Plaistow, London, a 21-year-old from Gloucester and a 20-year-old from Waltham Forest, London into custody but later released them under investigation.

In a separate operation the week before, on Thursday January 17, they arrested three men on suspicion of supplying class A drugs after their overdue hired Vauxhall Corsa was stopped in Upavon by officers who suspected the car was carrying drugs.

A 28-year-old, a 24-year-old and 50-year-old, all from Birmingham, were arrested and have been released under investigation.

Two other men were then arrested on suspicion of supplying class A drugs - a 23-year-old man of no fixed address in Wiltshire and a 24-year-old man from Finchley, London. They have also been released under investigation. This operation was integral as part of the force’s on-going work to close down a known County Lines link to Birmingham.

On Monday January 21, a 20-year-old man from Bristol was arrested on suspicion of affray and stealing a car following an incident in the Usher’s Court area of Trowbridge. He has been released under investigation.

On January 22, officers from the Swindon Community Policing Teams conducted an operation with the British Transport Police at Swindon Railway Station. Officers in uniform and plain clothed worked in the railway station looking for members of county lines gangs using the rail networks to transport drugs into Swindon.

On January 23 Simnbar Mondhlani, 30, from Birmingham was arrested in Swindon and charged with possession with intent to supply crack cocaine and heroin as well as being concerned in the supply of heroin and crack cocaine. He has been remanded in custody.

Sgt Chris Wickham, who lead the operation, said: “County lines gangs are a real problem that is closer to home that some people might think. Young and vulnerable people living in our communities are being exploited by these gangs. The people purchasing the drugs, who are in themselves often vulnerable, regularly commit crime to fund their habit. Targeting those who operate in Wiltshire, intending to selling class A drugs remains a priority for us and we will carry on demonstrating that Swindon and Wiltshire is an unattractive place for those involved in county line drug dealing.”

Head of Crime Prevention for Wiltshire Police Sonja Leith said: “County Lines is everyone’s responsibility and I would urge members of the public to be vigilant and look out for some of the most visible signs that drugs gangs are operating in neighbourhoods and to report this to us - your call could save lives.

“Together with our partner agencies across Swindon and Wiltshire, we work hard to identify where County Lines are exploiting vulnerable children and adults, to proactively disrupt these networks and to safeguard and protect those at risk of harm. The intelligence we receive from people in all of our communities is crucial in helping us, our partner agencies and neighbouring forces tackle this.”