Police serve closure notice on Leamington flat where suspected County Lines drug activity took place

Police believe they have helped disrupt County Lines drug dealing in Leamington after serving a closure order on a flat where suspected drug activity took place

The order was granted by Birmingham Magistrates Court and officers hope it means nearby residents can finally get some respite from 'the disruption and fear that the tenant had created in the local community'.

In recent months, intelligence on an address in Windmill Road, Leamington, has suggested incidents of drug related activity connected to County Lines.

A number of search warrants have been executed at the address during this time, which has led to several arrests for drug offences.

A closure notice was authorised at the address while Warwickshire Police made an application to court for a full closure order.

A spokesperson for Leamington Police said: "Together with partner agencies and other departments within the force, the Leamington Safer Neighbourhood Team have been running ‘Operation Switch’.

"This operation targets those supplying drugs, whilst making sure that vulnerable people being exploited by such activities, are protected .

"As part of this operation, evidence was obtained on the tenant and the property and this was produced at court. It was important to disrupt and deal with the activity that was occurring, not only in normal times but particularly during a global pandemic whilst it was a threat and causing harm to the local community."

On Friday January 15 Birmingham Magistrates Court granted the order under Section 80 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act of 2014 due to nuisance or disorder associated with the address.

Later that evening, the Leamington Safer Neighbourhood Team served the closure order on the tenant and they were removed from the property.

The spokesperson added: "The order will be in place for three months and other than certain professionals working for specified agencies, no person will be allowed access to the address.

"Police are working with Warwick District Council to secure the property whilst the order is in place. We hope that this allows the neighbours some respite from the disruption and fear that the tenant had created in the local community."

Sgt McMurray said. “Our priority is to make our communities even safer and we will do all we can to target those involved in the supply of drugs and county lines. We will proactively target people we believe to be involved in drugs and use the powers we have to make sure their activity is disrupted.

"If anyone has any information in relation to the supply of drugs within their community, we urge them to contact police. Suspicious behaviour can be reported on the Warwickshire Police website or via 101. In an emergency, always call 999.

"If you’d like to report information anonymously, please call the independent charity CrimeStoppers on 0800 555 111 or visit their website."