The British Transport Police has confirmed that four men have been arrested on suspicion of various drug offences following a County Lines operation at London Bridge last week.

BTP officers were joined by colleagues from the Met Police, drug detection dogs and City London Police / Kent Police.

Operation Blume saw officers being deployed to detect and disrupt any criminal activity.

Five men were arrested during the operation along with 74 stop and searches, and eight community resolutions.

A man in his 20s was stopped and searched by officers after he was seen pushing through the ticket barriers. He was found to be hiding crack cocaine and heroin. A later search of his home found £4,000 in cash, a bag of cannabis and crystal rocks as well as a burner phone.

The man appeared at Highbury Corner Magistrates Court yesterday.

Another two men were stopped after they were spotted avoiding drug detection dogs. One man was found to have £2,500 in cash on him and the other was found to have two blocks of cannabis. The men, in their 30s and 60s, have been bailed whilst enquiries continue.

A man in his 60s was stopped after officers noticed a strong smell of cannabis emitting from him. He was also arrested after being found with £400 cash and multiple blocks of cannabis.

Fianlly, a man was arrested after being identified as failing to appear in court for a hearing as part of a Met Police investigation.

“I’m extremely pleased with the success of the operation, which saw us identify and apprehend people involved in County Lines activity.

“Our dedicated team works across the rail network throughout the country to tackle this exploitative activity, making critical interventions to safeguard vulnerable people from predatory and ruthless gangs.

PC Lee Noble