WEST Mercia Police has released its own footage showing how it took down a major County Lines drugs operation in Oswestry.

The infamous ‘Boris’ line saw three people jailed earlier this month at Shrewsbury Crown Court and 14 people imprisoned overall for a combined 70 years.

This video shows how officers took down a Merseyside-based drugs gang who were pumping drugs into Oswestry while exploiting vulnerable young people and making them sell drugs on their behalf.

READ MORE: Oswestry county lines trio jailed for heroin and crack deals

This gang ran the ‘Boris’ drugs line, facilitating the supply of crack cocaine and heroin.

A police spokesman said: “While the three leaders of the gang enjoyed a lavish lifestyle funded by these crimes, they left a trail of misery on our streets, and enforced with a ruthless aggression, which left one female with life-changing injuries.”

Police explained how the operation was rolled up.

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The spokesman said: “On January 7, 2019, a female was lured to location in Oswestry, and subjected to a vicious attack which left her with life-changing facial injuries.

“This wasn’t a random attack; the female had been lured there by the enforcer of a drugs gang because she owed a £500 debt.

“The gang wanted to show what would happen to other drug users within Oswestry if they did not pay their debts on time.

“As a direct response, our Serious and Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) set out to dismantle the group responsible and bring these offenders to justice.

“Following intelligence work, we were able to identify that the gang responsible were not local, and were in fact, a Merseyside-based gang who were pumping Class A drugs into Oswestry in what was nicknamed the ‘Boris’ line.

“The gang had spent time building relationships with adult drug users and young people in Oswestry, who they persuaded to sell drugs on their behalf. They also identified vulnerable young people that they could exploit and traffic around Oswestry to do their bidding.

“On one occasion, a vulnerable young person they were exploiting was forced to sell drugs to their mother.”

Two dealers locally were arrested in February 2019 to give more details of how it operated ahead of a ‘strike day’ in July 2019.

They added: “Officers travelled up to Merseyside, and with the support of Merseyside Police, raided addresses which resulted in the arrests of seven people including two of the gangs’ leaders – brothers James and Josh Mason.

“Meticulous searches of the properties then began, with one critical piece of evidence being front and centre: the ‘Boris’ line mobile phone, which we found under the sofa.

“Along the way, the team found a large amount of cash, drugs and the receipt for a Rolex watch worth over £4,500.”

If you have any information that you think may be connected to drug dealing or any other type of crime, you can contact us online, or you can give information anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.