SOMERSET NEWS: Cracking down on London gangs turning Somerset homes into drug dens

A SOMERSET housing landlord had two of its properties raided for Class A drugs following an 11-month police operation to disrupt the supply of cocaine and heroin.

Yeovil-based Yarlington Housing Group worked with Avon and Somerset Police to combat a London-based crime gang who targeted the area to supply illegal drugs.

The gang operated under a model referred to as County Lines by the National Crime Agency (NCA), which sees rural and coastal communities targeted by inner city gangs, who identify areas with a potential customer base and low resistance from local drug dealers.

The gangs start by taking over a property from which to deal the drugs, usually by coercing a vulnerable person who may already be a drug addict or by entering into a relationship with a vulnerable female.

The next step involves setting up a single telephone number given to addicts to order their drugs which are then distributed via ‘runners’.

The NCA’s report on ‘County Lines’ stated most runners were boys aged 14-17 because they “are easy to manipulate, work for little money and are less likely to be detected”*. Where girls are used, they usually become the victim of sexual violence.

Last week five properties in Yeovil, including two belonging to Yarlington, were raided by Avon and Somerset Police after the landlord submitted evidence obtained via CCTV footage within neighbourhoods where extensive drug activity was suspected.

The dawn raids resulted in the arrest of ten people with a further 15 taken into custody in London by the Metropolitan Police Service.

Darren Holt, Yarlington’s community safety officer, said: “We will not tolerate drug dealing from our properties.

“The criminal approach of County Lines puts vulnerable adults and children at risk, they are in an unsafe environment and exposed to violence and fear.

“Yarlington is committed to providing safe communities for all our residents and we will provide support to protect vulnerable residents targeted by drug gangs.

“Yarlington will seek legal sanctions against those persistently involved in any drug-related activity to ensure we eradicate drugs from our neighbourhoods.

“The public can help by contacting us if they identify a vulnerable person who might be targeted by a gang, find strangers living in a vulnerable person’s property or detect an increased drug use which may be related to drug dealing activities.”

Please contact Yarlington on 01935-404500 or Avon and Somerset Constabulary if you have any information relating to drug activity in your neighbourhood. All information provided is confidential.

Members of Yeovil Town Council were told back in June this year of organised crime gangs from London targeting vulnerable people in Somerset and turning their homes into drug dens. For more information – go to this link: http://www.yeovilpress.co.uk/blog/2016/06/08/yeovil-news-buying-illegal-drugs-is-as-easy-as-ordering-a-takeaway-pizza/ .

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