A man was arrested in a dramatic police raid on a home in Liverpool as part of an operation targeting drug smuggling - as crime and policing minister Sarah Jones vowed to crack down on the “evil trade”.
On Tuesday (7 October), Ms Jones joined officers as they arrested the 29-year-old man from Kirkby on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of crack cocaine and heroin.
It came as new data released showed that a record number of gang leaders have been charged with County Lines drug offences in the last 12 months.
According to the government, in addition to closing 2,300 “deal lines”, targeted work on key transport networks and investment into automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technology resulted in more than 1,120 senior gang members being charged in the 12 months to July.
That number is the highest annual figures since the Government’s county lines programme began six years ago, in 2019.
The Independent’s Caspar Barnes reports from the scene.
