10 July 2026
Record numbers of county drug lines have been shut down across the country as Labour steps up its crackdown on the gangs exploiting children and vulnerable people to traffic drugs and carry knives.
New Home Office figures show 2,833 county lines were closed last year, with 7,381 arrests, more than 2,000 gang leaders charged, over 1,400 knives seized and 4,750 vulnerable people referred for safeguarding support. The results mark the best year on record for the County Lines Programme, combining tough enforcement with specialist support to protect children from exploitation. In one week alone earlier this year, Cleveland Police seized over £4,000 in cash by shutting down three county drug lines.
Protecting vulnerable children from criminal exploitation has long been a priority for Luke. As Redcar & Cleveland’s Cabinet Member for Children in 2023, he established the specialist SAFE Team (Safeguarding Adolescents from Exploitation) to identify children at risk earlier and divert young people away from gangs, exploitation and crime.
In Parliament, Luke has continually campaigned for more resources for policing. Since July 2024, Cleveland Police has received an additional £7.4 million in Government funding, alongside £2.39 million through the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee. In April, Luke welcomed the 48 additional neighbourhood police officers and PCSOs recruited over the previous year, while calling for the outdated police funding formula to be reformed so Cleveland receives the resources it needs to tackle serious crime.
Luke Myer MP said:
“County lines gangs are ruthless. They prey on children, exploit vulnerable people and leave communities living with violence, drugs and knife crime.
“It’s encouraging to see record action being taken to dismantle these criminal networks, but enforcement is only one part of the answer. We also have to identify children at risk early, support them to escape exploitation and give them better opportunities for the future.
“I’ll continue backing our brave police, pushing for fairer funding for our area and working to ensure vulnerable young people are protected before criminal gangs can get hold of them.”
Crime and Policing Minister Sarah Jones said:
“We are shutting down more county lines, bringing more gang leaders to justice and taking more deadly weapons off our streets than ever before.
Our message to these criminals is clear: we will come after you, dismantle your networks and protect the children and young people you seek to exploit.
This government will not let up in its mission to halve knife crime within a decade, break the grip of county lines gangs and make our communities safer.
Cleveland Police’s lead on Serious Violence and Drugs, Chief Inspector Dave Snaith said:
“The ruthless criminals behind these networks often target and exploit children as drugs runners, or use coercion or violence against vulnerable adults to store drugs, cash or weapons.
“Our partnership work with neighbouring forces and the NEROCU is vital in order to shut down these drugs lines, remove drugs from our streets and safeguard vulnerable people. We also work closely with local partners and charities to offer support to victims who have been exploited.
“We will continue to target those involved in County Lines criminality and causing harm to our community and appeal to anyone with information to get in touch.”