Local Policing Team officers in Southport have been involved in operations focusing on ‘county lines’ drug dealing and child exploitation over the last two days.

Tuesday saw officers working together at Southport train station, where a number of stop searches were conducted and quantities of drugs were seized.

Wednesday was a roads policing operation, as often, young people can be driven to areas away from their home address to be exploited for drug dealing. A number of offences were identified, from speeding (the highest speed being 42mph in a 30MPH area) and use of mobile phones, to a trailer that was seized on suspicion that it was stolen, along with other road traffic offences.

Superintendent Mark Wiggins, who heads up Merseyside’s Violence Reduction Partnership said:

“It’s time we saw drug gangs for the abusers they are. Drug gangs are grooming kids in Merseyside every day. Grown men, and sometimes women, are grooming vulnerable kids who come from all sorts of backgrounds. They are coercing them to sell drugs, to be on the end of a phone line 24 hours a day to deliver drug orders, to store firearms and weapons, and to invade vulnerable people’s homes often hundreds of miles away from their homes to help the gangs make money.

“Merseyside’s Violence Reduction Partnership, in conjunction with a number of key partners such as Merseyside Police, local authorities and schools, are asking everyone, whether a parent or not, to step up and know what the signs of grooming are. The ‘EYES OPEN’ campaign lists the signs of grooming so everyone can start to look out for the abuse and report it anonymously to Crimestoppers. We have also produced a booklet for schools to help kids understand what to look for. This depraved criminal behaviour has to stop.”

Criminal gangs look for vulnerable young people to control.

You might think our kids are safe from grooming but Merseyside drug gangs are the second highest child abusers in UK. Together, we can keep our young people safe. Let's keep our EYES OPEN.