A Bradford man who ran a drugs line pumping crack cocaine and heroin into Leeds has been locked up after West Yorkshire Police’s county lines taskforce came knocking.
The arrest and conviction came as part of Operation Phoenix, a targeted investigation by specialist detectives working to dismantle the county lines networks that have taken hold across West Yorkshire in recent years. These operations typically involve dealers using dedicated phone lines to sell Class A drugs, often exploiting vulnerable people to move and store the gear.
County lines dealing has become one of the biggest concerns for police forces across England, with criminal networks stretching out from major cities into smaller towns, using young people and addicts as runners and cuckooing victims in their own homes to use as drug dens.
West Yorkshire Police have made Operation Phoenix a central part of their response, targeting the individuals running these lines and working to cut off supply routes before more communities get pulled in.
The Bradford dealer was found to be supplying crack cocaine and heroin into Leeds, with the investigation building enough evidence to secure a jail sentence. The force has not yet released full details of the sentence length, but confirmed the conviction follows the swoops carried out under the operation.
Detectives from the county lines taskforce have been ramping up activity across the region, and Operation Phoenix has already resulted in multiple arrests as officers work through the network. The message from the force is straightforward: those running drugs lines into West Yorkshire communities will be tracked down and prosecuted.
Crack cocaine and heroin remain the dominant drugs pushed through county lines operations, causing serious harm in the communities where they land. Leeds, like many English cities, has seen the damage these networks do first hand, and local police have been under pressure to show results.
The conviction is being held up as evidence that the taskforce approach is working, with specialist investigators able to build stronger cases than traditional policing methods alone. By focusing resources on the county lines model specifically, officers can follow the chain from street level back to the people actually controlling the supply.
West Yorkshire Police have encouraged anyone with information about drug dealing or county lines activity in their area to come forward, either by calling the force directly or reporting anonymously through Crimestoppers.