From the Ross-shire Journal, yesterday:
County Lines drug gangs reach as far north as Alness, police confirm. THE Highlands are grappling with the grim reality of so-called County Lines drug operations, with 10 separate gangs exploiting vulnerable individuals in its capital city.
Police Scotland’s Highlands and Islands Division has identified the growing footprint of organised crime over the past 18 months, with devastating consequences for the community. The criminal networks behind County Lines originate in major cities like Liverpool, London, and the West Midlands, and use a combination of coercion, exploitation, and violence to tighten their grip on the drug trade.
The ‘Frankie’ line is from the West Midlands and the police quickly put a dent in their work in the Highlands after an increase of fatal and non-fatal overdoses due to the presence of Nitazene in heroin.
Who runs the Frankie line? This rapper and BBC regular:
The BBC and abusive criminals is, of course, not that unusual, is it – Saville, Edwards….?
What’s the problem with Nitazines in Heroin?
The UK government is behind the curve in tracking the spread of new super-strength drugs, a doctor who has treated patients has said.
More than 100 deaths have now been linked to synthetic opioids called nitazenes since the summer, according to the National Crime Agency. Dr Mark Pucci says flawed data collection methods mean the numbers are a significant underestimate. On Wednesday, fifteen synthetic opioids became Class A drugs.
Under the Misuse of Drugs Act, those caught in their supply and production could face up to life in prison, the Home Office said, while those caught in possession could face up to seven years. Home Secretary James Cleverly said the government was taking a range of measures to keep Nitazenes off the streets.
Police and public health leaders have warned it has “never been” more dangerous to take drugs thanks to the arrival of super-strength man-made opioids.
Nitazenes can be hundreds of times stronger than heroin but unscrupulous drug suppliers have been mixing them into other drugs – despite potentially “dire consequences”.
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
BBC in Scotland never reports on how the drugs are reaching Scotland only on the number of deaths that result from the influx of drugs over the years.
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John Jamieson – Be fair now. These county line gangs are doing the Home Office a favour – they’re keeping Nitazenes off the streets!
And credit where it’s due. This is the beeb reporting (though not Where We Are). So sometimes do fulfil their obligation to be impartial, educational etc
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It seems fairly clear to me that if this character appears on the BBC he has been “approved of”. Discovering he may be involved in these gangs supplying Scotland and the BBC is suppressing that fact means to me the security services have approved the character and likely the activity that serves to undermine anything the SG do to reduce drug deaths.
I smell a Willie MacRae type approach
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