EXCLUSIVE: The Mirror joined officers on a major county lines operation where more than 40 uniformed or undercover police officers, drug dogs and safeguarding experts descended on a train station in east London
Ruthless county lines gangs that exploit vulnerable kids to do their “dirty work” trafficking drugs or carrying weapons faced record criminal action in the last year.
Almost 3,000 drug dealing lines have been shut down and just shy of 1,500 knives have been seized under a relentless drive to break the criminal network.
The Mirror joined British Transport Police (BTP) on a major operation on Tuesday where more than 40 uniformed or undercover police officers, drug dogs and safeguarding experts descended on Stratford railway station in east London.
It saw one vulnerable child involved in county lines, who had been missing, intercepted and given support. Charities who knew the child were in attendance, as well as the council which represents social services, so immediate action could be taken without waiting for emails or meetings to take place.
On Tuesday alone, six people were arrested, including one for possession with intent to supply class A drugs.
Policing Minister Sarah Jones, who also observed the police operation, told The Mirror: “County lines is a really horrific crime, which is a violent one, which is about basically the journey that drugs take across the country to get to people who want to buy their drugs for their weekend drug taking or for their drug use.
“And what often happens is you have big criminal gangs that are exploiting kids to get on the trains, get on the bus, to get on the coach, and take the drugs where they need to go. It’s a horrible, nasty, violent business. A lot of people get stabbed.
“We have a big programme that we fund from government that targets those people who are the real power behind the county lines network.”
David Udomhiaye, a detective superintendent at BTP, said uniformed or plain clothed officers are out on the railways “24/7” trying to tackle criminal gangs.
“It’s a massive problem because they’re exploiting vulnerable people, as well as young children, and getting them to do the dirty work, if you like, for them,” he told this newspaper.
“The railway is crucial to the county lines operating model because it allows these criminal gangs to send vulnerable people across the country to vast areas carrying drugs, weapons, money. That’s why we do these operations. Today, you might see us in uniform, but we do these kinds of operations every single day, not just at Stratford. So even though you can’t see us, just know that we are always out 24/7.”
BTP said they lead with a “safeguarding” approach and are supported by charity workers, including specialists from Catch22, on the frontline.
Johnny Bolderson, a senior service manager at Catch22 who was also at the operation, said gangs target “vulnerabilities” in youngsters.
He said: “It could be around home life, it could be coming from a poor background, it could be coming from a certain education, certain demographic, but it’s looking at their specific vulnerabilities and about how they can target them to make sure that they can actually be exploited into the county line gang.
“They will use trainers, they will use money, they will use status, because that’s mostly what young people want at that age, status, and to be a part of something. What happens with the county line gangs is that they’ll give them that.” Catch22 charity provides a range of services including alternative education programmes, gang interventions and support for care leavers.
Amanda Radley, the safeguarding lead for BTP’s county lines taskforce, told The Mirror about 87% of young people who might start with an arrest don’t have a criminal justice outcome.
“We’re really keen that we don’t criminalise children and young people that might be being exploited,” she said. “So whilst we might start with an arrest if we find drugs or money or believe that they’re involved in the supply chain, we’ll be looking to outcome that (so) we don’t criminalise them.
“We’ll be looking for that non-criminal justice outcome that is more supportive, protective, and acknowledging the fact that the likelihood is they’re a victim.”
The County Lines Programme, which is funded by the Home Office, is one element of the Government’s work to halve knife crime in the next decade. The Mirror’s Missed campaign highlights forgotten, unsolved, and underreported missing persons cases across the UK.