£90k BMW seized by officers during county lines drug warrants

A BMW worth £90,000 has been seized by officers investigating alleged county lines drug dealing.

Officers carried out the warrants in Chesterfield, Sheffield and Rotherham this week and recovered substantial amounts of cash, designer jewellery and clothing, along with the high-value German vehicle.

During the warrants 14 people were arrested on drugs offences – with nine men charged with conspiracy to supply heroin and crack cocaine, four of whom were remanded in custody.

Two men and three women were released under investigation as enquiries continue.

Detective sergeant Simon Cartwright said: “The seizures this week show that these criminals are making a considerable amount of money – at the expense of some of the most vulnerable people in our communities.

“Two of the people, one man and one woman, have been safeguarded after being found to be in the grip of the criminal gangs – and we will continue to work with our partner organisations to ensure that they, and any others who are being exploited, are given the support they need.

“As a force we will not stand for this and do everything in our power, in conjunction with partners such as Chesterfield Borough Council, to ensure that those who seek to make profit from harming our communities are brought to justice.

“These warrants have been conducted with the support of our colleagues in South Yorkshire Police, who we work closely with to ensure that county lines gangs, as well as those committing other types of crime, have no place to hide.”

Councillor Jill Mannion-Brunt, Chesterfield Borough Council’s cabinet member for health and wellbeing, said: “Once again, it’s positive news that these arrests have been made, preventing the sale of the drugs in our town and protecting the most vulnerable members of our community.

“Each day officers are working hard to remove drug dealers from our communities and the council is continuing to do everything it can to support them in their efforts.

“If you think county lines drug dealing may be going on in your area, please report it as soon as possible. Even the slightest bit of information could help to protect vulnerable people and prevent drugs being sold in our communities.”

Angelique Foster, Derbyshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, who attended one of the warrants in Chesterfield, said: “I have made it very clear that we need to see a tough and highly effective approach to tackling drugs and the organised crime that blights lives and communities.  We must have zero tolerance to crime in Derbyshire.

“This successful operation is the result of hard work by officers across the forces involved alongside their local authority partners.  They did a great job, well done to our officers.”

If you have information about drug dealing in your area then you can contact the force, in confidence, using any of the below methods:

• Facebook– send us a private message to /DerbyshireConstabulary
• Twitter– direct message our contact centre on @DerPolContact
• Website– complete the online contact form derbyshire.police.uk/ContactUs.
• Phone – call us on 101.

You can also anonymously contact the independent charity Crimestoppers, on 0800 555 111 or by visiting www.crimestoppers-uk.org.