A man has been arrested after police found drugs hidden in a pram underneath his four-day-old baby in Liverpool.
The 27-year-old man was stopped at Liverpool Lime Street station on Tuesday and suspected cannabis was found in the pram he was pushing his baby in, BTP said.
The man, from Wigan, was arrested on suspicion of carrying a Class B drug with intent to supply and was later released under investigation.
The baby has been taken into the care of social services, the spokesman said.
The arrest was carried out by BTP’s County Lines Taskforce, during an operation supported by Merseyside Police.
The taskforce, set up with Home Office funding in December last year, has arrested 276 people and charged 55 in its first four months.
More than £60,000 in drugs and £108,000 of illicit cash has been seized, and weapons including a ninja star and a revolver with ammunition have been removed from the rail network.
A large proportion of those arrested by the taskforce for drug offences are under the age of 18, and more than half are under 24 years of age, BTP said.
Detective Superintendent Gareth Williams said: “Our experience has proven that gangs who use the railway network rely on younger people to move drugs.
“These individuals are victims, forced through exploitation or intimidation into desperate situations, and it’s always our priority to make support available that can get them out of harm and away from crime.
He added: “Since December, we’ve been carrying out operations on a daily basis, always based on developing intelligence that shows where gangs are operating.
“We get part of our information through working in partnership with other law enforcement agencies, but also importantly through the support of the rail industry who train their staff to spot signs of exploitation.
“Key indicators include a young child travelling long distances, alone with a large amount of cash, or avoiding any sort of authority at stations.
“These indicators are small but invaluable and help inform where we target next.”
