County lines drug dealing is underreported and the scale is likely to increase, including a rise in the reported number of children exploited by gangs, law enforcement chiefs leading the fight against the phenomenon have warned.
In interviews with the Guardian, senior figures at the National Crime Agency (NCA), National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and British Transport Police (BTP) have said the intelligence picture of the county lines threat is the “best it has ever been”.
But they expect reports to increase as they work to improve understanding of warning signs by reaching out beyond law enforcement to tackle the trend.
And gang leaders have been told they will be treated as child traffickers, not just drug dealers, as police and NCA officers increasingly use modern slavery legislation to crack down on the exploitation of young people.
County lines involves gangs in cities such as London, Birmingham and Liverpool using children as young as 11 to deal mostly heroin and crack cocaine over a network of dedicated mobile phones in smaller towns and rural areas across the country.
In the most recent intelligence assessment, the number of individual phone numbers identified as being used on established county lines networks is 2,000.
But Duncan Ball, a deputy assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan police and the NPCC lead for county lines, told the Guardian: “In terms of the numbers, the feeling is that 2,000 is underreported. Through the work we do, we will identify more lines, it will be greater awareness and greater understanding of what the problem is. That’s not to say there isn’t growth, because it’s a very fluid, dynamic model. Drugs gangs go to where the markets are.”
Nikki Holland, the NCA’s director of investigations and county lines lead, said an intelligence gathering exercise in 2015 found seven forces were reporting county lines behaviour. By 2017, this had rapidly expanded to 38 forces and by 2018 44 forces including the BTP had county lines activity on their patch.
Quick GuideWhat is ‘county lines’ and who are the victims?
Show
What does the term ‘county lines’ mean?
The name ‘county lines’ refers to the phone numbers, or lines, that criminal gangs which traffic drugs from urban to rural areas use to organise the sale of their wares. Gangs in cities such as London, Birmingham and Liverpool use children to deal mostly heroin and crack cocaine over a network of dedicated mobile phones to smaller towns and rural areas.
Who are the victims and how are they recruited?
The majority of victims groomed into working for gangs are 15- to 17-year-old boys but children as young as 11 have been safeguarded and girls have been targeted.
Many victims are recruited over social media, with offenders luring them with images of cash, designer clothing and luxury cars, but vulnerable girls and women are being targeted by men who create the impression of a romantic relationship before subjecting them to sexual exploitation.
How big is the problem?
In 2015, about seven forces reported county lines behaviour. Now, 44 forces, including British Transport Police, have recorded county lines behaviour on their turf.
No one really knows how many young people across the country are being forced to take part. Children without criminal records – known as ‘clean skins’ – are preferred because they are less likely to be known to detectives. The Children’s Society says 4,000 teenagers in London alone are exploited through county lines, while the children’s commissioner estimated at least 46,000 children in England were caught up in gangs.
How many children have been affected
The number of individual phone numbers identified by law enforcement officials as being used on established county lines networks is about 2,000 – nearly three times the 720 previously established.
Police estimate the phone numbers are linked to about 1,000 branded networks, with a single line capable of making £800,000 profits in a year.
The Children's Commissioner estimates at least 46,000 children in England are caught up in gangs.
“The picture around county lines is the best it’s ever been in terms of what we know,” she said. “We’re in the best position we’ve ever been.”
DCS Paul Furnell is head of crime and public protection at the BTP, which plays a major role in tackling county lines as the rail network is key to the transport of drugs, particularly by vulnerable minors too young to drive.
He said the rise in reports of vulnerability was “good news … because it’s uncovering what we know to be a very under-reported areas of crime. And I think that that’s still the case. And I think we’re seeing increases because we’re being more professionally curious as an organisation.
“We’re looking beyond the obvious so I would expect in two years, the figures around county lines, the figures around missing and exploited to be higher than they are now, and we would need to recognise that’s partly because of good work that’s happening.”
Holland, Ball and Furnell are spearheading the law enforcement fight against county lines, which is bolstered by the £3.6m National County Lines Coordination Centre, which became fully operational a year ago.
London, the West Midlands and Merseyside continue to be the main exporters of county lines, and the south-east, south, east and the north-west are worst hit as “importers”, according to the latest intelligence picture.
Crack cocaine and heroin are the principal drugs pushed by county lines, with crack prices remaining low, at about £10 a rock, and purity is high.
Quarterly increases in the number of children being linked to county lines are attributed to improved identification based on stronger intelligence.
The exploitation of children to transport and sell drugs continues. Referrals to the national referral mechanism – the official framework for identifying and referring potential victims of modern slavery – for county lines exploitation have continued to increase, with the vast majority juveniles.
Ball is clear about the central role vulnerability plays in the phenomenon. “The model is driven by violence, exploitation and vulnerability,” he said. “Without vulnerability, the model would not survive. It preys on the weak. The whole thing preys on the weak for financial gain for gang members and organised crime groups.”
But vulnerability presents unique challenges to police forces. “At one end of the spectrum, you have a gang member who is absolutely in the category in which we would look to enforce and bring an end to the criminality,” Ball said.
“At the other end, you have a 10-year-old kid who has been bullied into it, faced violence, had drugs forced on him. As you get closer to the middle, that’s when it gets harder. We have to make fairly early assessments as to whether we see someone as a suspect or a victim.”
Holland added: “The other tricky thing is people don’t see themselves as victims. The lifestyle they may have been plucked out of is no bed, no food and a cold house. So being put into a gang is a more warm, more loving environment.”
But the rewards rarely compensate for the difficulty young people find themselves in once caught up in the county lines trade, Holland said. “Some of the conditions they are in, it defies belief that it would be out of the choice. Something is taken off them, they’re indebted, you either do it or we’ll hurt you and your family. They’re in deep.”
Police forces hope the increased use of modern slavery as a framework to deal with the offences will have an impact on the perception of county lines as a glamorous lifestyle.
“We’re not just saying: ‘You’re dealing drugs,’ as people are quite happy to plead guilty to dealing drugs. What they’re not happy to plead guilty to is the fact they are trafficking children. Within that there is a stigma. By using this legislation, we hope gangs will self-police themselves into not using children.”