A POLICE chief has vowed “relentless” action in the battle against London drugs gangs.

Last week across Sussex there were 711 drug seizures carried out by officers and more than £10,000 in cash was also seized.

The force says it is “keeping up the pressure” on dealers using mobile phone lines to sell to punters in Sussex, in what has become known as County Lines.

But Detective Chief Inspector Steve Rayland says there are at least 65 mobile phone lines still active across the county and there could be as many as 350 phone lines that dealers rely on to sell their drugs.

He said in the past week 28 arrests were made and 32 phones seized. He said: “This is the result of just one week’s activity, and shows how we are continuing to disrupt dealers who try to distribute dangerous drugs across our communities.

“Our work will continue relentlessly, targeting those who would bring harm to local people, including often the most vulnerable.

“Police work to combat illegal drugs in Sussex continues under the ‘Fortress’ brand, launched to encompass all our drug-harm reduction work.

“Over the past nine months, prior to last week’s operations, we had successfully disrupted 88 criminal activities linked to County Lines, and since August, again prior to last week, we had made 133 arrests.”

During last week’s police operations officers visited 91 addresses. Meanwhile the force had to put in place safeguarding for 17 vulnerable people who had been targeted by the gangs.

Dealers often target addicts by forcing their way into homes and flats to use them as bases for selling drugs in a process police call “cuckooing”.

Vulnerable children and teenagers can also be targeted to act as drug runners to help the dealers evade the police.

Det Chief Insp Rayland added: “We also work closely with other agencies to support those vulnerable adults and children who are exploited by county line gangs.

“This includes regular visits to those adults at risk of cuckooing and raising awareness with those agencies engaged with children to ensure that information is shared effectively to prevent young people being drawn in to this criminality.”