05:57 EDT, 3 February 2021
Police have busted a suspected £1million county lines drug operation after dealers posed as key workers to fool lockdown patrols.
Couriers allegedly delivered drugs - mostly cocaine - to 2,000 customers across Birmingham and Worcestershire by dressing up as care home staff.
But the West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit (WMROCU) shut down the hotline.
A 12-gauge self-loading shotgun was recovered as part of the operation and four men - aged 24, 31, 33 and 35 - have been charged with drug offences.
Detectives also fear young people may have been groomed and exploited to supply the drugs - much of it to middle-class customers .