GMP named specialist for tackling county lines gangs as Home Office invests in new dedicated team

We've been named as the fourth police force in the country to receive dedicated funding to take down county lines drug networks which are destroying lives and tearing apart communities.

The decision by the Home Office follows data analysis which indicates Greater Manchester is consistently one of the top five areas in England and Wales for county lines drug activity, which is in turn linked to violent crime in our region.

Our new dedicated team to tackle county lines gangs will receive the additional support and investment over the next three years to pursue and lock up the ruthless criminals who often exploit young and vulnerable people for their own financial gain, taking them off the streets.

With this additional support, our new anti-county lines team will conduct investigations to identify the controllers of the phone lines used to push drugs such as heroin and crack cocaine to vulnerable people, and arrest and prosecute them, closing down that drug network for good.

They'll work alongside our existing Challenger programme to prevent the exploitation and serious violence committed by county lines gangs and safeguard vulnerable children and adults.

GMP now joins the Metropolitan Police Service, West Midlands Police and Merseyside Police which have all benefitted from extra funding due to their county lines importer force status since 2019.

Chief Constable Stephen Watson QPM said: "We are incredibly grateful to receive this additional funding, which will bolster our efforts to smash county lines activity and target those who prey on vulnerable children to commit their criminal deeds.

"These shadowy networks are often very complex, and the people involved are prepared to bring violence and serious crime to the streets of Greater Manchester, so establishing a dedicated team will allow us to focus more attention on them than ever before and get those responsible firmly in our crosshairs.

"Working alongside our partners within the existing Programme Challenger partnership, we’ll not only be disrupting and dismantling networks but also ensuring that the vulnerable people affected will get the best possible support available.

"We know that county lines activity is high in our area, and I want to make it known to anyone who is committing these crimes in Greater Manchester that, quite simply, we will not tolerate it and our newly established team will do everything in their power to stop these criminals operating."

Our work will contribute towards the government’s new Drug Strategy target of eliminating more than 2,000 county lines over the next three years, backed by up to £145 million of investment to do more than ever to tackle the most violent and exploitative distribution model seen yet.

Police and Crime Minister, Kit Malthouse, visited us as we executed a drugs warrant earlier today (Wednesday 6 March) in north Manchester to see our work to tackle drug crime.

He said: "The controllers of drug networks around Manchester are ruthless criminals motivated by nothing but greed.

"They fuel violence and exploit children to do their dirty work, so they can stay undetected.

"But we see them, and with this dedicated team, Greater Manchester Police will do more than ever before to stop them and spare the local community from their poison."