Cannabis plants with street value of £1.1m and cocaine worth more than £30,000 seized in Warwickshire

Police have seized cannabis plants with a street value of more than £1.1m and cocaine worth more than £30,000 after a week of action in Warwickshire.

County Lines Intensification Week – which ran from October 9-15 - is a national initiative aimed at tackling a trade linked to serious violent crime and the exploitation of vulnerable people.

Police arrested 23 people on suspicion of a range of drug related offences.

County lines is the name given to drug dealing where organised criminal groups from large cities use vulnerable young people to move drugs into smaller towns and rural areas.

In Rugby, officers seized more than £30k worth of cocaine after stopping a car in York Street. A man was arrested and charged.

In the south of the county, four drug warrants were executed and eight people arrested on suspicion of drug offences.

Detective Chief Inspector Rich Brown from the Warwickshire Police Prevent Team said: “County lines drug gangs continue to exploit vulnerable people in our communities. Last week’s activity was about disrupting their activity and reducing the opportunities for criminals to profit from the exploitation of others.

“As well as taking enforcement action we visited vulnerable people to ensure measures were in place to protect them from exploitation.

“We also gathered a lot of intelligence that will help us continue to disrupt the activity of county lines gangs.

“Information from the public is vital in helping us tackling these gangs. Please be aware of the signs of exploitation and report any concerns you have to us. Every piece of intelligence, no matter how small, gives us a better picture of the problem and help us focus our resources to tackle it.”

Concerns can be reported to Warwickshire Police at www.warwickshire.police.uk/report or call 101. Alternatively, information can be provided anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.