Nearly 1,000 knives seized and a couple of,700 drug traces closed in report crackdown
The Home Office has announced some 2,740 county lines were shut down between January and December last year, with 1,657 gang leaders charged and 961 blades taken
Nearly 1,000 knives were seized throughout 2025(Image: PA)
More than 2,700 drug lines were closed and nearly 1,000 knives were seized throughout 2025 in a “record year” for gang busts.
The Home Office has announced some 2,740 county lines were shut down between January and December last year, with 1,657 gang leaders charged and 961 blades taken.
County lines networks are typically gangs based in cities that use phone numbers to sell drugs like cocaine and heroin to customers in other counties and smaller towns.
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The criminal gangs use violence in their operations, and often exploit children. The 2025 figures are the highest since records began in 2019. The county lines crackdown has led to a 25% reduction in hospital admissions for stabbings in key areas, preventing more than 800 stabbings a year.
Policing minister Sarah Jones said: “We are shutting down more criminal lines, busting more gang leaders and seizing more dangerous knives off our streets than ever before. I will not rest in the relentless pursuit of these horrific criminals that leave a trail of violence and exploitation in their wake. The Government will halve knife crime within a decade, saving lives and protecting communities.”
It comes as the Government prepares to launch its plan to halve knife crime within a decade next Tuesday, with £34 million investment confirmed for the county lines programme this year to fund police action like house raids and drugs seizures. The new funding includes more than £28 million for policing, to help smash the gangs exploiting children and engaging in violence.
Detective Superintendent Dan Mitchell, Head of the National County Lines Coordination Centre (NCLCC), said: “As the results from our latest intensification week demonstrate, tackling County Lines remains a top priority for policing. Since the Home Office-funded County Lines Programme was established, we are now closing more lines, charging more violent offenders, and protecting more children and adults at risk of exploitation and other harms than ever before.
“As County Lines gangs’ methods evolve, our policing approach – led by the NCLCC – does too. We remain committed to pursuing high-harm County Lines and those controlled by violent drug dealers, so that we can prevent harm, protect children and vulnerable adults, and disrupt criminal activity.”
Kathy Betteridge, Director of Anti-Trafficking and Modern Slavery for The Salvation Army, said: “We welcome the Government’s action to tackle County Lines and the violence and devastation of lives that goes with it. We recognise the vital focus on prevention, the continued investment, and the clear results it is bringing.
“Through our work supporting survivors and in the heart of communities across the country, we see first-hand the devastating impact of County Lines exploitation, where young and vulnerable people are groomed, coerced and drawn into violence by criminal gangs. “
