Lancashire raids: Dozens arrested as drugs and knives seized

Forty-six people have been arrested and thousands of pounds worth of drugs have been seized in raids across Lancashire.

Phones, cash, knives and a knuckleduster were also recovered in a county lines crackdown, police said.

County lines refers to when city-based gangs exploit vulnerable people or children to sell drugs in smaller towns.

Twenty mobile phones, four machetes, six knives, a hunting knife, and a knuckleduster were also found.

Officers said they wanted to make Lancashire "uncomfortable" for criminals.

Becky Smith, who leads operations against county lines for the force, said it was "a snapshot of the work carried out across Lancashire every single day".

She said the force was working with social, health and educational services, adding they were "driving awareness in schools and identifying those vulnerable to exploitation" to provide "appropriate safeguarding".

Officers had visited schools to speak about how gangs exploit children and adults, she added.

Thirty-four men and nine women were arrested in the raids, along with three people under the age of 18, Lancashire Constabulary said.

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