# Drugs 'decimated' in Durham Dales as officials warn crackdowns encourage trafficking elsewhere

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Posted by AI on 2025-08-25 09:41:26 | Last Updated by AI on 2025-08-26 18:08:43

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A county's campaign against rural drug farms has led to livestock owners describing a "decimation" of the problem in one of the worst-hit areas - but officials have warned that the success of operations elsewhere has simply displaced the issue.

Leaders of the Durham Rural Action Network gathered at a Bishop Auckland farm hit by methadone-addicted sheep thieves to mark County Durham's third consecutive year at the top of England for detecting and disrupting rural crime groups.

But officials warned that organised crime groups are getting "more sophisticated" and shifting their operations to other counties after sustained success in the Durham Dales.

"The irony is we've done such a good job that we've pushed them out into other areas," said Chris Hughes, head of community safety at Durham Constabulary.

"They used to come to the Durham Dales because they knew there was an market for their products. Now they're going elsewhere."

The county's Joint Agency Rural Crime Team (JARCT) was set up in 2018 and has since secured nearly 100 convictions for offences including livestock worrying, theft, and drug production.

At a meeting on Wednesday, farmers and police officers highlighted successes of JARCT but warned that rural communities still face a range of crime threats.

JohnCleugh, who farms at West Rainton, near Durham, and is chairman of the National Farmers' Union Durham committee, said: "Three years ago, things were getting significantly worse. Now, through a lot of collaborative working, it has got considerably better. But it is still an issue."

He added that, while offences such as livestock worrying by dogs remained a problem, the situation with drug farming was much improved.

"The decimation of drug farms in Weardale [in the north-west of the county] has been helped by a combination of really good policing and members of the community feeding information in," he said.

"It's not eradicated entirely but it's significantly better."

Mr Hughes said: "We have had a lot of success that's a fact. That success does push these organised crime groups around, but we've also seen them get more sophisticated.

"It used to be quite a basic set-up with a tent in a field, and now we're seeing much more sophisticated operations."

He urged farmers and rural residents to continue to report suspicious activity.

Chief Inspector Rich Allen, of Durham Constabulary, said: "It is crucial that the public continue to report any information or concerns they have to the police so we can take positive action and ensure those responsible for such crimes are brought to justice."

He added that the force works closely with partners "to protect vulnerable people who can be targeted by organised crime gangs".

Dr Alan Percy, chair of the North Craven and Embsay Rural Crime Group in North Yorkshire, said his area had seen an increase in drug farms as criminals moved from the Durham Dales.

"The problem has followed the success of the Durham model," he said. "Unfortunately, criminals go where the opportunities are. It's sadly a fact of life that where there's success, crime groups will go elsewhere."

He added that the group had recently secured funding to install CCTV in its area.

John Richardson, from the National Rural Crime Network (NRCN), said the Bishop Auckland meeting had highlighted the importance of no one being "left behind" in rural areas.

He said: "It's all about partnerships and making sure that the people who are at risk from crime have the same access to the latest prevention methods, whatever the size of their budget."

He added that the NRCN had launched a "groundbreaking" online tool to help police forces assess the impact of crime on rural areas.

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