Thirteen people arrested as police target alleged county lines gang moving drugs into north Derbyshire

Officers carried out 11 warrants in the Deepcar, Heeley, Shire Green and Ecclesfield areas of Sheffield and the Newbold area of Chesterfield on Wednesday, September 22, and Thursday, September 23.

The warrants are the culmination of months of work into an alleged county line drugs gang moving heroin and crack cocaine from Sheffield into the north Derbyshire area, according to police.

Heroin and crack cocaine, weapons and cash were seized by more than 60 officers from specialist crime teams in Derbyshire Constabulary and South Yorkshire Police.

Of the 13 people arrested, five have been charged and remanded on firearms and drug offences – with the other eight people released under investigation as enquiries continue.

Sergeant Simon Cartwright, from Derbyshire Constabulary’s Organised Crime Unit based in Chesterfield, said: “The arrests last week are a fantastic example of the cross-border work that goes on to detect and disrupt drug supply in both counties.

“On a daily basis we see the damage that heroin and crack cocaine cause to our communities and we will work with our partners and fellow officers to target those responsible for peddling these drugs.”

County lines is the term used for organised, illegal drug-dealing networks who transport drugs from one area to another, often across police and local authority boundaries.

They are usually controlled by a person using a single telephone number or ‘deal line’.

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