Machete, cash and almost £200k worth of drugs seized in county lines op in Northampton and Milton Keynes

The elite County Line Taskforce from British Transport Police worked with Northamptonshire Police and Thames Valley Police to carry out the operation and make multiple arrests. The high visibility deployment used passive drugs dogs and knife arches among an arsenal of resources to crack down on county lines activity across the region. Three active deal lines were identified, £25k in cash was seized along with £9k worth of class A drugs and a 14 kilo cannabis haul with a street value of around £210k. Highlights of the operation included a 20-year-old man who was spotted acting suspiciously and making obvious attempts to dodge the knife arch at Northampton station.

When he was approached by offices and a search conducted he was found to have a machete with a 45cm blade concealed in his jogging pants. Ivan Yao of Lytchet Way, Enfield, was arrested and subsequently charged with possession of an offensive weapon. Intel also identified a man approaching Northampton station. He was searched and found to be in possession of around £3k in cash as well as quantities of crack cocaine and heroin. He was arrested for possession with intent to supply. A subsequent search of his address uncovered more class A drugs. Daniel Lake, aged 19 of Abbey Bridge, Nottingham, was charged with three counts of possession to supply class A drugs. Five people were arrested outside a property in Northampton when officers visited a cuckooing address and found a drug deal in progress. A sixth man, Alexandru Bozga was arrested when officers again witnessed a drugs deal in progress. A search of his house recovered more than 10 kilos of cannabis with a street value of £150,000 and £13,740 in cash. Bozga, aged 24, of Greenfield Avenue, Northampton, has been charged with possession with intent to supply class B drugs and possession of criminal property. He was remanded in custody from court to await a trial date. Three warrants were executed in the Milton Keynes area from intelligence received, resulting in a further three people being arrested for possession with intent to supply class B drugs after four kilos of cannabis was recovered along with £2,000 in cash. Detective inspector Ian Henderson, from BTP’s County Lines Taskforce, who led the operation said: “Make no mistake – our taskforce is waging a war on county lines drugs gangs and we will not rest until we have dismantled this evil trade which profits from misery and addiction and the exploitation of the vulnerable. “This operation, in conjunction with our colleagues at Thames Valley Police and Northants Police, is yet another significant step towards achieving this goal with deadly weapons, drugs and profits from criminal enterprise taken off the streets. “We are always on the network whether you spot us or not; if you’re using the railway to transport drugs, weapons or cash and exploiting the most vulnerable in our society then your days are numbered.”