Project Medusa: Three warrants executed in North West

Officers from Project Medusa have this morning (Friday, 15 April) executed three warrants in the North West in the fight against County Lines drug dealing.

Officers executed two warrants in Merseyside, Kensington and Toxteth and one in the area of Cheetham Hill of Manchester and arrested two people.

One male aged 33 years and a 29-year-old female, both from Toxteth were arrested on suspicion of concerned in the supply of Class A drugs, possession with intent to supply Class B drugs and possession of criminal property

Officers are conducting searches of the properties and so far have recovered suspected controlled drugs, cash, expensive jewellery and clothing.

This was part of the ongoing Project Medusa, a Merseyside-led initiative set up to tackle County Lines drug dealing and child criminal exploitation.

Detective Inspector Gary Stratton said: "This morning’s arrests were part of the proactive work we are carrying out under Project Medusa, an operation that works across force boundaries to ensure we take suspected County line offenders off our streets.

"Organised crime destroys communities and the lives of those taking drugs and those who are often coerced into dealing them on behalf of these gangs.

"The gangs who operate these lines, use young and vulnerable people to do their dirty work for them and we need to put a stop to this.

“Our work to remove these people from our streets and bring them to justice will continue on a daily basis and I would ask anyone who has information about this kind of activity to come forward so action can be taken.”

If you have concerns about drug dealing in your area you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, call Merseyside Police on 101 or DM @MerpolCC.  Always contact 999 if a crime is in progress.

Spotting the signs of someone involved in County Lines can be tricky – if you are worried about someone, visit www.eyes-open.co.uk for more information.