By Lincolnshire county lines drug trafficking grows more dangerous
Lincolnshire’s county lines drug trafficking offenses have reportedly been growing steadily worse in recent years.
Children as young as seven are being used to smuggle drugs across the country for gangs.
The problem is only growing more dangerous and more organised as the years go by.
Lincolnshire Police have indicated that becoming more complacent about county lines drug trafficking will only set children up to fail in later life.
In a video interview, Detective Inspector Gail Hurley said: “If we think that [Lincolnshire doesn’t] have a county lines problem, then we’re very naïve.”
She added: “To say what scale is it on, well we only know what scale it’s on when we actually know what’s happening and I have to say, we can’t say exactly what’s happening at the minute, that’s still an evolving picture.”
However, figures have shown that more children are going missing, being trafficked and becoming involved with gangs as drug runners recently.
Colin James is a mediator and mentor at Gangs Unite, but he used to be involved in county lines drug trafficking as a drug runner in his teenage years.
He claims that the problem has grown worse since he was a youth.
He told Greatest Hits Radio: “People my age or even younger than me are now manipulating young people to do all the work for them.
“I was someone, if I was going to do something, I would do it myself.
“We would never have sent a young person out to do anything like that back in the day.
“We didn’t groom young people; we didn’t encourage young people to get involved.”
He added: “I was game as a child, very brave, very courageous, so something like that I would have done.
“It’s something someone could have persuaded me to do because the rewards are high, but people don’t tell you that the consequences are higher.”
He believes that a huge difference could be made to county lines drug trafficking through education and acceptance.
Colin told Greatest Hits Radio: “There’s a divide between young people.
“Most adults fear young people, don’t want to spend time with the young people and since no one’s spending time with them, they’re left to do things themselves.
“With their immature minds they don’t really know what is harmful and what is dangerous, they don’t even know that they’re being used.
“If we’re not careful, the biggest employer of young people is going to be gangs.”
To spot the signs of county lines drug trafficking, it is important to look out for children who appear anxious or lost, carry two phones or lots of cash, are under the influence of drugs or alcohol, are being controlled by others or are begging for money.
Public transport, food outlets, roadside services, hotels, salons and car washes are all prime spots for these vulnerable children to be found.
If you have any suspicions, please call 101 (or 999 in an emergency), Crimestoppers on 0800 555111 or, if on a train, text British Transport Police on 61016.
(Photo: Warren Wong)
