CANNABIS and brass knuckles were among items confiscated by police during train operation.
Sussex Police have launched the operation to try to stop smuggling on the rail network from Hastings and Eastbourne to London.
British transport police, construction, border forces and British immigration services also assisted in the operation.
The Sussex team, Discovery, is focused on young people and other vulnerable people using train lines to move drugs and other illegal items.
At Hastings station on July 1, agents working with BTP carried out 17 stop drug checks and six stop and count interventions.
They made three cannabis seizures, detected by police dogs, and seized an offensive weapon … an brass knuckle, a metal guard worn on the fists during combat to increase the effect of the blows.
A person has received a community resolution requirement for possession of cannabis.
Three people have been investigated by border forces, and an immigration investigation continues into the legal status in that country of one of those arrested during the operation.
At Eastbourne station on July 2, Sussex officers, in conjunction with BTP, DWP and Immigration Enforcement, carried out 13 searches.
Sussex Police Operation at Hasting and Eastbourne Stations
Officers arrested two people on arrest warrants, carried out community resolution for possession of cannabis, and made three cannabis seizures, all with the assistance of police dogs.
Eight people were referred to investigators from the Ministry of Work and Pensions for investigation of benefit fraud offenses. Four people were referred to Immigration Enforcement for further investigation into their status in the UK.
Detective Sergeant Greg Montier said: “We are seeing young people involved in County Lines becoming a growing concern in East Sussex and elsewhere.
“One of our tactics is to organize these highly visible, targeted days to disrupt these gangs who are trying to operate on the tracks and, using partners from the backup units, to offer the support that vulnerable people need. to dissociate oneself from these groups and from drug-related crime.
“Discovery in East Sussex brings together local police, firefighters, Stop the Traffik Hastings, King’s Church and staff from the Hastings and Rother Councils, DWP, HMRC, Home Office Immigration, Gangmasters and Labor Abuse Authority and local charities.
“All with the aim of seeing the victims of modern slavery rescued and supported, and the culprits brought to justice.”
For tips and information on how to spot signs of modern slavery and how to report it, visit the Sussex Police website.
More about this article: Read More
Source: www.theargus.co.uk
This notice was published: 2021-07-07 17:10:00
