Professor John Robertson OBA

Thanks to Graham for alerting me to this.

In the P&J today, the above evidence that English drug dealers are still exploiting the vulnerable in Aberdeenshire, fuelling drug deaths and extreme violence nearly seven years after the first report in the Sunday Post:

PEOPLE living in rural communities around Scotland are being targeted by ruthless “county lines” gangsters who want to take over their home to sell drugs. The criminals from the north of England use threats and violence to force vulnerable people in countryside towns and villages into helping them sell drugs.

Police say the problem – first seen in Scotland’s north-east – has now spread across the country and a dedicated team of detectives has been set up in response. Vulnerable people such as addicts or teens are targeted to front the operations.

Experts say this can include children as young as 15 and are often people who have been through the care system. They are used as couriers or their properties are taken over to store drugs or cash – a practise known as “cuckooing”.

https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/threats-violence-and-death-as-county-lines-drugs-gangs-seize-homes-in-towns-and-villages-across-rural-scotland/

BBC NE, Orkney & Shetland has never reported on English County Lines. Locals must rely on social media to find out what is going on in their local area:

From AberdeenLive in August 2024, but nowhere on BBC Scotland’s North East website where possible bin strikes dominate:

A county lines drugs duo were snared after one of them spoke to police while smoking cannabis. Jahvid Frith and Tyrone Sealey had based themselves at a flat in Aberdeen having travelled from England. Prosecutor Paul Kearney KC said officers were on patrol at the high-rise block in the city’s Marischal Court early on February 22 2023.

Prosecutor Paul Kearney KC said officers were on patrol at the high-rise block in the city’s Marischal Court early on February 22 2023. The advocate depute said police believed it had “all the hallmarks” of a County Lines drug dealing operation. Firth and Sealey are from Birmingham and Leeds respectively.

Mr Kearney said the English cities are “recognised source areas” for drugs that are sold in the north-east of Scotland.

BBC Scotland are not interested in English gangs fuelling Aberdeen’s drug deaths but are interested in the deaths

A public health warning has been issued in Aberdeen after at least 10 suspected drugs deaths were recorded in the city this month. It is more than twice the monthly average of four drugs deaths recorded in Aberdeen last year.

Sources:

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/aberdeen-county-lines-dealers-snared-150528942.html

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-56501924