Detectives believe there are as many as 26 drug gangs exploiting vulnerable people in rural Gwynedd.

Police chiefs warned this week that the problem is one they have seen in Porthmadog, Dolgellau and Blaenau Ffestiniog.

The practice known as ‘county lines’ sees gangsters sending children from big cities to deal drugs in north Wales.

Speaking to members of the North Wales Police and Crime Panel in Conwy on Monday, Chief Constable Carl Foulkes said they believed there to be 14 such gangs last year, but the figure is actually 26.

He said: “I talked about 14 (gangs involved in county lines) now I‘ve talked about 26. That’s not because the numbers have grown it’s because our understanding is much better. County lines generally affects every community in north Wales so this is not a Rhyl issue or a Bangor issue or a Wrexham issue.

“This is an issue that affects Dolgellau, Porthmadog and Blaenau Ffestiniog and we have seen examples of that.”

The Chief Constable said big city criminals were a danger to all parts of the region.

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