Drugs operation in Inverness Railway Station 'sends a message to county lines gangs', say police

County lines drug gangs shipping narcotics into the Highlands sparked a joint police awareness operation in Inverness Railway Station.

Officers from Police Scotland's Highlands and Islands division joined colleagues from the British Transport Police for a special exercise in the transport hub on Thursday.

Officers and sniffer dogs were on hand to raise awareness of the issue and to act as a warning to county lines drug gangs that police are on full alert to detect and seize any attempted shipments into the north.

The operation came in the same week that police announced that more than £8.5 million worth of illegal drugs had been seized in operations across Scotland in January alone – including "significant" seizures in Inverness.

Among those was a haul of drugs with a street value of £15,000, which was detected by a sniffer dog in Seafield Road on January 10

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Explaining that the high-profile police presence was a joint operation to raise awareness that police are actively hunting drugs couriers, Inspector William Nimmo said: “Police Scotland officers work hard to keep our communities safe and make the country a hostile environment for organised criminals to operate.

“Exploiting the most vulnerable people, including children, is the approach of those who operate county lines. They intimidate, coerce, threaten and use violence to groom young people and force them to transport, store and sell drugs for their own nefarious benefit.

"We will continue to work in partnership with Crimestoppers, Network Rail and British Transport Police to safeguard individuals on the rail network who are recognised as being at risk and are grateful for their support."

“If you have information about anyone involved in County Lines, and importantly anyone who may be at risk, please get in touch with police on 101 or by contacting Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”

A spokesperson for the British Transport Police added: "British Transport Police and Police Scotland conducted a joint operation at Inverness railway station on January 25 to tackle the movement of drugs using the rail network.

"The operation is just one example of the daily deployments we carry out across the railway nationwide to crack down on drug supply. Its aim is to tackle county lines activity and identify and safeguard vulnerable individuals exploited in this crime type.

"As part of the operation, officers deployed a number of specialist resources including a drugs detection dog."