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British Transport Police takes zero tolerance stance against those profiteering from the exploitation of children and the vulnerable.
British Transport Police specialist County Lines taskforce held a day of action at London Euston station on Monday.
The operation resulted in 13 arrests and located a missing child who was safeguarded and returned to a place of safety.
More than £2,500 in cash was seized along with two knives, four burner phones and 40 wraps of a Class A drugs.
County Lines is a term used to describe gangs and organised criminal networks involved in exporting illegal drugs into one or more importing areas within the UK, using dedicated. mobile phone lines or other form of ‘deal line’.
The networks and the criminal enterprises they run devastate our communities.
Children, young people and the vulnerable are commonly targeted, exploiting them into trafficking drugs, money, and weapons. These victims then become trapped in a cycle of fear with gangs often using promises of wealth and gifts to draw vulnerable people in, then use violence or threats to control and manipulate them.
The BTP County Lines taskforce is pivotal in intercepting this exploitation and making safeguarding interventions to protect vulnerable people from the ruthless gangs.
BTP’s bespoke child exploitation team works with a broad range of partners who, collectively, adopt a prevention focused, child centred approach to identifying and immediately safeguarding those at risk.
Station staff, passengers and commuters were also encouraged to #LookCloser as part of the operations to spot the signs of child exploitation and to report any concerns or incidents they witness.
Plain clothes officers, drugs dogs and knife arches are just some of the tactics that the taskforce employ every day to proactively disrupt criminality on the railway network.
As well as arresting those who prey upon the vulnerable, seizing drugs, weapons and phones, specialist officers also gather intelligence into the organised crime groups responsible and target them, removing their ability to cause harm.
Det. Supt Craig Payne from BTP’s County Lines Taskforce said: “Robust operations like todays take place across the rail network every day. Sometimes you’ll spot us, sometimes you won’t.
“Through the deployment of targeted specialist resources, we will find those who exploit the vulnerable, arrest them and destroy their criminal enterprise.
“Our mission remains to identify and safeguard those who are being exploited and relentlessly pursue those who have targeted them.
“Anyone exploited by these gangs will be safeguarded and supported".
“We will not waver in our determination to stop the exploitation and associated harm caused by county lines gangs, making our communities and railways safer.
“We urge anyone using the rail network to report any concerns to us through our discreet text number 61016 or by calling 0800 40 50 40 and to be aware that victims of exploitation may not always be obvious nor aware they are indeed victims.”
NOTES TO EDITORS:
For information on British Transport Police ‘Don’t take the Bait’ campaign visit:
btp.police.uk/police-forces/british-transport-police/areas/campaigns/donttakethebait/
More details on The Children’s Society’s #LookCloser campaign can be found here:
childrenssociety.org.uk/what-we-do/our-work/child-criminal-exploitation-and-county-lines/spotting-signs#definition