County lines drug dealing - how violent crime gangs are exploiting children

by Michael Drummond

Police have been stepping up their fight against county lines drug dealing, a brutal tactic used by organised crime gangs.

Stories about county lines are appearing in the news across the country, but what exactly is it? How is it different to more traditional drug dealing, and how can you spot the signs?

What is county lines drug dealing?

County lines is a tactic used by gangs and organised crime groups from big cities like London to send drugs out to smaller towns.

Children and vulnerable adults are often intimidated into carrying out illegal activity on their behalf, under threat of extreme violence.

Drug users in smaller towns call a dedicated drugs ‘deal line’, usually located somewhere in London, and then drugs runners are dispatched to their location.

Gangs exploiting children and vulnerable adults with threats of violence

One particularly harrowing feature of county lines drug dealing is ‘cuckooing’.

Often violent dealers target the home of a vulnerable person, taking over the property and using it as a base to operate from, according to the National Crime Agency (NCA).

People exploited in this way will quite often be exposed to physical, mental and sexual abuse, and in some instances will be trafficked to areas a long way from home as part of the network's drug dealing business.

Children with clean criminal records will often be groomed and used as drug runners or to transport cash.

According to the NCA, the use of children in county lines operations bears similarities to child sexual exploitation. Children often do not see themselves as victims or realise they have been groomed to get involved in criminality.