Two Luton men arrested in county lines operations

Two men from Luton have been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to supply class A drugs.

A 16-year-old and a 22-year-old, both from Luton, were arrested after police carried out warrants at addresses across Hertfordshire and in London as part of an operation targeting county lines gangs.

Following an arrest in Stevenage on June 20, officers from Hertfordshire Police's dedicated county lines Operation Mantis team searched another Stevenage address making another arrest on July 2. Crack cocaine and heroin were seized at both addresses.

After further investigations, four warrants were carried out on July 22, in Borehamwood, St Albans and two London addresses, during which further arrests were made.

Trae Cuff, 24, of Ariel Road, London, and Panashe Madanire, 25, of Hawkins Road, London, were charged with conspiracy to supply class A drugs and remanded into custody.

Six others were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to supply class A drugs during the operation:

- A 16 year old man from Luton

- A 22 year old man from Luton

- A 22 year old man from from St Albans

- A 59 year old woman from St Albans

- A 30 year old woman from Stevenage

- A 24 year old woman from Borehamwood.

They were all released whilst investigations continue.

Detective Sergeant Jon Leak, who leads Hertfordshire Constabulary’s Op Mantis team, said: “We are constantly working to target those who are involved in county lines drug dealing and other gang activities.

“These gang members do not hesitate to use violence and exploit the vulnerable, often using children to run drugs and taking over the homes of society’s most vulnerable people - known as ‘cuckooing’ - to use it as a base to run their drug dealing operations from."

You can report information about a crime online at herts.police.uk/report or by calling 101.

Alternatively, you can stay 100% anonymous by contacting the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via their untraceable online form at crimestoppers-uk.org.

County Lines is the name given to describe drug dealing, which involves criminal networks from urban areas expanding their activities into smaller towns and rural areas.

It often involves the exploitation of children, as gangs use young people and those with mental health or addiction problems to transport drugs and money.

These gangs establish a base in the location they are targeting, often taking over the homes of local vulnerable adults by force or coercion in a practice referred to as ‘cuckooing’.

Cuckooing is the term used when gangs establish a base in the location they are targeting, often taking over the homes of vulnerable adults by force or coercion.

How to spot the signs that cuckooing might be happening in your neighbourhood:

- Lots of different people coming and going from an address during the day and at night

- Suspicious smells coming from the property

- Windows covered or curtains closed all of the time

- Cars pulling up to or near to the house for a short period of time

- An increase in anti-social behaviour around the property.