The practice of “cuckooing” – victims’ homes being taken over by gangs as bases for illegal activity – is now estimated to affect thousands of people across the UK. Urban dealers typically befriend vulnerable people in rural and coastal towns, offering drugs to gain their trust. Victims often include those who are addicted, or who have mental-health issues, or both, although elderly people, sex workers, single mothers and those in poverty are also at risk. One common scenario is that a drug user gets into debt, and is forced to let a gang member move in, using their home to store, process and sell drugs.

In 2017, three-quarters of police forces in England and Wales documented evidence of cuckooing related to county lines activity ( see below for explanation) alongside tales of violence and child and sexual exploitation. For those caught up in it the reality can be horrendous: “One chap started taking drugs… then county lines started and his house got taken over,” said Superintendent Caroline Naughton of Dorset police. “In the past four years, he has had his teeth pulled out and been beaten up really badly. It starts as a friendly relationship.” But the “violence” soon follows.  (The Week 13 Feb 2018)

In the United Kingdom, the term “county lines” is a neologism referring to the practice of using children to traffic drugs into rural areas.  A 2019 estimate by the National Crime Agency estimated the total turnover of all county lines activities throughout the UK as about £500 million.

Key facts about illegal drug use in the UK