Criminal gangs ‘are grooming middle class children to sell drugs’

MIDDLE class children are being groomed to sell drugs by criminal gangs branching out from cities into rural towns, a report has warned.

Children from “stable and economically better-off ” backgrounds are at risk of being exploited by gangs using “county lines” tactics, which facilitate the supply of class A drugs from urban areas to county or coastal towns, it found. The report, by the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Runaway and Missing Children and Adults said the drug distribution model had spread from London to the rest of the country, including Manchester and Liverpool.

The “county lines” tactic involves the operation of a telephone number in an area outside a gang’s normal area which is then used to sell drugs directly to users at street level. They set up a secure base in a more rural area and use runners to conduct day-to-day dealings. The gangs deploy children and vulnerable people as couriers to move drugs and cash between the new market and their urban base.

The APPG’S paper, based on testimony given at a meeting of experts, parents and agencies earlier this year, warned that “any child can be groomed for criminal exploitation” from any area of the country.

It added: “It affects boys and girls, children from families that experience a range of issues as well those from stable and better-off families.

“Some children are initially approached by their peers, who have also been groomed and exploited, which can make it even harder for them to identify the risks without prior education.” The paper warned that children who go missing from home or care are at “serious risk” of being targeted for involvement in gangs, trafficking, criminalisation, sexual exploitation and violence.

The inquiry was told that children as young as eight or nine are regularly groomed and exploited by gangs. The report expressed concern that youngsters currently receive little or no education to help them understand criminal exploitation and the associated risks, making them ill-equipped to identify when they are being targeted.

Ann Coffey, Labour MP and chairman of the APPG, said: “Young people who are groomed into drug-running by adults are being exploited in the same way as those who are enticed into sexual activity. They are vulnerable and need our support.”