Another two people have been arrested as part of Operation Jackal – a major county lines investigation into the supply of drugs from Bradford into Harrogate.
On Wednesday 11 November 2020 officers from North Yorkshire’s Police’s Organised Crime Unit and West Yorkshire Police’s Project Precision team, travelled to separate addresses in Bradford where they arrested two men, one aged 23 and one aged 26.
Both men were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to supply class A drugs, human trafficking under the Modern Slavery Act and money laundering. Officers also seized a number of mobile phones and sim cards as part of their enquiries. The two men have been released on conditional bail while further enquiries are carried out.
This latest action brings the total number of arrests under Operation Jackal to 19.
The arrest phase of Operation Jackal began in February 2020 when six people were arrested in Bradford and 11 in Harrogate.
Operation Jackal also led to North Yorkshire Police taking civil action to take down three ‘county lines’ phone lines operating between Bradford and Harrogate. On 12 February, the force successfully obtained three Drug Dealing Telecommunications Restriction Orders.
These civil orders allow officers to take over a phone line and give them the power to have it disconnected on a specified date and time. These valuable, protected and often branded phone lines allow out-of-town heroin and cocaine dealers to send mass text messages advertising their drugs for sale and when and where they can be picked up. Taking them out means no adverts, no sales and no profit for drug dealers.
18 suspects remain under investigation, one has been released with no further action taken. The investigation continues.
