Name: County lines drug dealing task force executes warrant at Leeds house
Uploaded: 2026-02-03T15:24:18.000Z
Duration: 25 s
Description: County lines drug dealing task force executes warrant at Leeds house

This is the dramatic moment police smashed their way into a Leeds home.

A raid was carried out at a property in west Leeds at around 5am this morning (Tuesday) as part of Operation Phoenix, a specialist taskforce set up among West Yorkshire Police last year to focus on county lines drug dealing.

The Yorkshire Evening Post spoke to police about their work tackling county lines gangs - with West Yorkshire Police warning county lines remains a “growing problem”.

The taskforce was set up last year with the backing of over £1m from the Home Office and features 16 officers and members of staff from within the force.

Police used a saw and battering ram to break into the west Leeds property during the early morning raid. | West Yorkshire Police

placeholder image — Police used a saw and battering ram to break into the west Leeds property during the early morning raid. | West Yorkshire Police

Since October there have been frequent warrants executed at properties around the county, with 72 arrests made, 7.5kg of Class A drugs seized and 19 lethal weapons seized.

Another warrant was executed in west Leeds this morning, with two police vans arriving at the property and a battering ram used to enter.

Two men were arrested as part of the raid, taking the total number of arrests to 74.

County Lines is a term used to describe gangs who are involved in exporting illegal drugs into areas within the UK, using dedicated ‘deal lines’. It is one of the most violent models of drug supply and often sees children used to move and store drugs and money.