"Working for a County Line gang isn't Rolex watches, expensive Nike trainers and the latest Apple phone.

"Nor is it a brotherhood or partnership built on any mutual respect or friendship.

"It is a life spent in grubby bedrooms and trap houses, holding the drug line phone and taking orders from someone you may never meet in person.

"You will take all of the risk, running the very real chance of being exposed to exploitation and violence, for none of the reward.

"You may handle some cash, but you will never keep it for yourself.

"You will face debt, misery and even servitude, all in the name of a false promise of glamour and wealth."

THOSE are the words of Detective Chief Inspector Neal Miller, who wants to dispel some of the myths around a life working for a County Line in Essex.

He speaks on the issue following County Lines Intensification Week – a national period of heightened activity against drug dealing gangs and an increased focus on protection for the many vulnerable people exploited by these groups.

Det Ch Insp Miller works with Essex Police's Serious Violence Unit, which includes Op Raptor and Op Orochi – officers specially trained to dismantle and disrupt drug dealing gangs in Essex.

He said: "Our work to tackle this issue in Essex continues all year, both day and night. It is our sole focus.

"But across this week of heightened activity we have coordinated our efforts against at least six drug lines across the county.

"These are groups who will, headed up by a controller usually based in the London area, bring Class A substances into our communities in Essex for sale on the streets.

"Our action against these gangs has included some significant work taking dangerous weapons and thousands of pounds worth of drugs out of circulation.

"In total, we've made 14 arrests and safeguarded 16 vulnerable people as a result of our work."

Recovered drugs

Across the week, officers seized 263g of crack cocaine, valued at more than £18,800, and 210g of heroin, valued at more than £17,000.

More than 2kg of cannabis was also uncovered, along with more than £5,000 in cash.

Officers confiscated more than 20 offensive weapons, including knives, knuckledusters and one imitation firearm.

In the south of the county, Op Raptor officers executed three co-ordinated warrants at addresses in Southend on Thursday 7 March, uncovering dozens of weapons at one address and arresting three people.

Phones including a suspected drug line device were seized, alongside a number of wraps of suspected Class A drugs.

At one address alone, officers seized a three-figure sum of cash and a large amount of cannabis.

In a room of the property, they found 24 weapons including machetes, knives and knuckledusters.

Five of the items were deemed to be offensive weapons under the relevant legislation.

Detective Sergeant Rob Maile, of Op Raptor South, said: "Finding offensive weapons of various and often quite horrifying varieties is sadly commonplace when dealing with matters relating to suspected county lines offending.

"The threat or use of violence either as a perceived means of protection, or as a tool for the enforcement of territory or debts, is a frequent feature of drug dealing.

Recovered cash

"This is why we will continue to build cases against those suspected of being involved in bringing drugs and dangerous weapons into Essex."

In the north of the county, in response to an investigation into two drug lines operating in Chelmsford, Op Raptor and Op Orochi officers executed warrants at addresses in Stratford and Chelmsford on Tuesday 5 March.

At the Stratford address, officers made an arrest and seized a number of significant items – including Class A drugs worth a suspected £31,000, and cannabis valued at more than £3,800.

They also confiscated a number of items of high-value clothing, phones, cash and an imitation handgun.

 Op Raptor North also visited the home of a known drug user for a welfare check in Chelmsford.

This work is supplemented by specialist safeguarding officers embedded within our Op Raptor teams, who work with partners to identify people exploited by county lines gangs.

After attending the address, the occupant disclosed two males suspected of drug dealing were inside the property.

Officers detained the pair and seized two drug line phones, along with wraps of crack cocaine, heroin and cash.

On Tuesday, 5 March, Op Raptor safeguarding officers worked with housing partners to obtain a partial closure order linked to an address used by a drugs line in Southend.

In yet another example of their ongoing work, safeguarding officers in Grays engaged with a potential victim of trafficking involved in county lines – offering help including hotel stays, a phone and temporary police alarms.

The force says: "We work closely with partners such as local authorities and the Essex Violence and Vulnerability Unit to ensure those people who may appear as perpetrators, but are in fact victims in their own right, are safeguarded and steered away from crime and drugs.

"During the week, our safeguarding officers worked with colleagues from our Prepare, Prevent and Protect Unit and community policing teams to deploy in the area around Stansted Airport.

"These deployments aim to raise awareness of child exploitation.

"County Lines gangs groom youngsters by offering them money or gifts and then force them to courier drugs and cash to unfamiliar places.

"Public spaces like bus and train stations, fast food restaurants, hotels and roadside services can be where young victims are most visible."

The team handed out leaflets from the Children's Society's Look Closer campaign, which contain a QR code that leads to information about exploitation and tells someone what to do if they suspect they have seen a victim.

Police stopped many vehicles

They stopped 178 taxis and handed out 221 leaflets, also working to find a missing person from Hertfordshire at Birchanger Services, conducting a welfare check and alerting Herts Police colleagues.

Det Ch Insp Miller said: "We work really hard to make sure our messaging is crystal clear:

"If you are being exploited, if you are falling victim to the criminal enterprise run by those at the top of these drug lines, we will help you.

"We will work with our partners across Essex to ensure you have the opportunity to escape the misery of addiction and control at the hands of organised criminals.

"But if you feel you can work to see drugs brought from London to Essex for sale as a viable business model – you couldn't be more wrong.

"We are working to bring those running these drug lines, the people realising the profit, swiftly to justice.

"Our approach is working, the results are there for all to see: Essex is an extremely hostile environment for drug dealers."