Eight people have been charged in a Barrow based county lines investigation.

Eight people have been charged following a joint operation with Merseyside police, targeting county lines drug dealing in Barrow and Liverpool.

On Tuesday June 23, police attended properties in the Barrow and Liverpool areas and subsequently arrested a number of people believed to be involved in county lines activity.

The following people between the ages of 24 and 48 have been charged with conspiracy to supply Class A drugs between November 1 and June 23.

These include: Leslie Bowers, 41, of Liverpool, Mark Walker, 48, of Barrow, Kerri Mallet, 47, of Barrow, Stuart Storey, 34, of Barrow, Matthew Renshall, 27, of Liverpool, Christopher Williams, 31, of Liverpool, Lauren Callister, 24, of Liverpool and Paul McGovern, 39, of Liverpool.

They are due to appear at Preston Crown Court on July 24 for a preliminary hearing.

Detective Inspector John Graham-Cumming said the investigation has been conducted over a number of months alongside Merseyside Police.

He said: “These warrants were conducted as part of the forces ongoing efforts to tackle the supply of drugs into Cumbria from larger cities using the county lines method of drug supply.

“This investigation has been conducted over a number of months and has seen us work closely together with Merseyside police to execute this successful operation.”

Detective Inspector Graham-Cumming added that it is ‘business as usual’ for Cumbria police despite the nationwide lockdown.

He said: “These charges show that even though the country has been in lockdown for the last few months, it is still very much business as usual for the police and we are committed to putting an end to this type of crime that exploits vulnerable people.”

The charges come just three weeks after nine people were arrested in another county lines bust after police seized ‘substantial amounts’ of controlled drugs in Barrow and Liverpool.

Seven people faced charges of conspiracy to supply heroin and crack cocaine.