“Criminal gangs involved in county lines drug dealing continue to present a real risk of serious harm to those they exploit, particularly young people,” said Detective Superintendent Marie Bulmer of West Yorkshire Police. Her warning lands as the Home Office published record County Lines results for 2025 on 5 April 2026: 2,740 lines closed, 1,657 line‑holders charged and 961 knives seized. Since the 2024 election, totals stand at 3,785 lines closed, 2,175 charged and 1,229 knives removed. (westyorkshire.police.uk)

On Merseyside, Project Medusa reported 237 arrests and 17 drug lines dismantled during the 2–8 March intensification week. Officers seized more than 18kg of heroin, crack cocaine, cannabis, nitrous oxide and ketamine, recovered over £42,000 in cash and took 35 weapons off the streets, while safeguarding 50 vulnerable people and visiting 36 suspected cuckooing addresses. (merseyside.police.uk)

Greater Manchester Police executed 30 warrants across the city‑region, closing 20 active deal lines and making 40 arrests. Cash seizures topped £34,000 and officers recovered weapons including zombie knives, stun guns, crossbows and an axe. Fourteen people encountered during the week were referred for safeguarding. (gmp.police.uk)

Across West Yorkshire’s five districts, the same week of action brought 56 arrests and 31 people safeguarded, alongside the seizure of more than £200,000 in cash, 50 mobile phones and 7,400 cannabis plants. Targeted work ran in Bradford, Keighley, Rastrick, Leeds, Wakefield and Calderdale under the force’s Operation Phoenix. (westyorkshire.police.uk)

“We will find you, we will seize your drugs and weapons, and we will protect the people you seek to exploit,” said Detective Chief Inspector Gary Stratton from Merseyside’s Project Medusa, stressing the operation continues beyond set‑piece weeks. (merseyside.police.uk)

Nationally, the Home Office says the March intensification week closed 355 lines, led to 2,180 arrests and safeguarded 1,348 people, with activity coordinated through the National County Lines Coordination Centre. (gov.uk)

County Lines typically move drugs from urban exporter hubs into smaller towns and coastal communities. Police chiefs list the main exporter areas as the Metropolitan Police, Merseyside, West Midlands, Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire. The government says its programme has contributed to a 25% fall in hospital admissions for stabbings across key exporter areas, preventing more than 800 stabbings a year. (npcc.police.uk)

Ministers confirmed more than £34m for the County Lines Programme this year, including over £28m for policing, and will launch the knife‑crime plan ‘Protecting Lives, Building Hope’ on Tuesday 7 April 2026. “We are shutting down more criminal lines, busting more gang leaders and seizing more dangerous knives off our streets than ever before,” said Crime and Policing Minister Sarah Jones. (gov.uk)

The Crime and Policing Bill now moving through Parliament adds a new offence of child criminal exploitation with linked prevention orders, and creates specific offences for cuckooing (home takeover) and coerced internal concealment. Officials say the package is designed to stop exploitation earlier and give police clearer powers to intervene. (gov.uk)

Researchers at the University of York and the Police Foundation note that alongside the ‘out‑of‑town’ model, police are also seeing county‑line style practices embedded in local markets, underlining the need to pair enforcement with sustained safeguarding. Practitioners report younger victims and rising impact on girls and young women, according to Catch22’s support service cited by the Home Office. (york.ac.uk)

For communities from the coast to the Pennines, the message is practical: look out for signs of exploitation, report concerns and use support routes. Forces highlight tools like Merseyside’s Eyes Open campaign and anonymous reporting via Crimestoppers, with GMP and others urging residents to share intelligence early. (merseyside.police.uk)