County Lines

County Lines it is a term used to describe gangs and organised criminal networks involved in exporting illegal drugs from urban areas into rural areas. The leaders of these gangs will try to exploit children and vulnerable adults, often without them realising it. They often use other people to move and store drugs and money. They can use some very harsh measure to make young people or vulnerable adults help them.

There may be signs of a change in a young person’s behaviour such as:

•        Returning home late, staying out all night, or going missing
•        Being found in areas away from home
•        Increasing drug use, or being found to have large amounts of drugs on them
•        Being secretive about who they are talking to and where they are going
•        Unexplained absences
•        Unexplained money, phone(s), clothes, or jewellery
•        Increasingly disruptive or aggressive behaviour
•        Using sexual, drug-related, or violent language that you wouldn’t expect them to know
•        Coming home with injuries or looking particularly dishevelled
•        Having hotel cards or keys to unknown places