Two more arrests made as police investigate County Lines drug dealing between Harrogate and Bradford

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Officers from North Yorkshire’s Police’s Organised Crime Unit and West Yorkshire Police’s Project Precision team travelled to separate addresses in Bradford on November 11, where they arrested two men, one aged 23 and one aged 26.

Both men were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to supply class A drugs, human trafficking under the Modern Slavery Act and money laundering.

Officers also seized a number of mobile phones and sim cards as part of their enquiries. The two men have been released on conditional bail while further enquiries are carried out.

This latest action brings the total number of arrests under Operation Jackal to 19.

The arrest phase of Operation Jackal began in February when six people were arrested in Bradford and 11 in Harrogate.

Operation Jackal also led to North Yorkshire Police taking civil action to take down three County Lines phone lines operating between Bradford and Harrogate. On February 12, the force successfully obtained three Drug Dealing Telecommunications Restriction Orders.

These civil orders allow officers to take over a phone line and give them the power to have it disconnected on a specified date and time.

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The force says these valuable, protected and often branded phone lines allow out-of-town heroin and cocaine dealers to send mass text messages advertising their drugs for sale and when and where they can be picked up. Taking them out means no adverts, no sales and no profit for drug dealers.

The investigation is ongoing, with 18 suspects still under investigation. One has been released with no further action taken.