Professor John Robertson OBA

In the P&J but not in the MSM and certainly not on BBC Scotland North-East, today:

Detective Sergeant Peter Sloan of Merseyside Police’s Project Medusa added: “No area or community is immune to county lines drug supply, which is why intelligence‑led operations like this are essential to disrupt involved in the distribution of harmful drugs.

“Today’s action, delivered alongside Police Scotland, resulted in three arrests and the seizure of significant quantities of illegal drugs.

“This sends a clear message to those intent on exploiting vulnerable people and transporting drugs.”

https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/6923496/three-arrested-joint-county-lines-operation-peterhead-merseyside/

What does the Liverpool detective mean when he says no area of community is immune to the county lines drug gangs from Liverpool?

Grok AI knows. I ask ‘List all the Scottish media links including online news to county lines drug gangs in small town Scotland including Tarves, Wick, Elgin, Dingwall, Thurso, Inverness.’ I could have added many more. The UK Chief’s of Police estimate 6 500 active lines, so 600 across Scotland, including in your home town or village.

Answer:

County Lines Drug Gangs in Specified Scottish Small TownsBelow is a compiled list of relevant Scottish media links (including online news from sources like BBC Scotland, Press and Journal, Inverness Courier, Northern Scot, John O’Groat Journal, Ross-Shire Journal, Sunday Post, Daily Record, The Scotsman, STV News, and others) related to county lines drug gangs operating in or targeting the mentioned small towns in Scotland (Tarves, Wick, Elgin, Dingwall, Thurso, Inverness). I’ve organized them by town for clarity, focusing on reports that directly or contextually reference county lines activities in these areas. Links are drawn from credible Scottish media outlets, with duplicates removed. General Highlands/rural Scotland reports are included only if they tie into the specified towns or regions. Each entry includes a brief description for context.Tarves

• Officers carry out drugs warrants in Tillydrone and Tarves (Press and Journal, June 26, 2024): Details police raids targeting county lines operations linked to Liverpool gangs in Tarves and Aberdeen. pressandjournal.co.uk
• Heroin worth £9000 seized and man charged in county lines operation (STV News, June 27, 2024): Reports on heroin seizure and arrest in Aberdeenshire (including Tarves area) during a county lines crackdown. news.stv.tv

Wick

• County lines gangs target vulnerable women in Highlands (BBC News, August 20, 2025): Discusses county lines exploitation of women in the Highlands and Islands, including areas like Wick, with crack cocaine and heroin supply. bbc.co.uk
• Police ‘day of action’ targets drug gangs (John O’Groat Journal, September 17, 2020): Covers a national county lines operation with arrests in Caithness (including Wick). johnogroat-journal.co.uk
• Former child drug mule says UK drugs problem only getting worse (Moray Firth Radio/Hello Rayo, October 19, 2021): Interview with a Wick resident exploited by county lines gangs as a child. hellorayo.co.uk

Elgin

• Gang aimed to flood Moray with drugs via Elgin base (Northern Scot, September 22, 2022): Reports on a county lines gang planning to distribute cocaine and heroin through an Elgin operation. northern-scot.co.uk
• County Lines drugs gang jailed for up to seven years after police sting uncovered plot to flood the Highlands and Moray with heroin and cocaine (Inverness Courier, November 16, 2022): Details sentencing of a gang targeting Moray (including Elgin) and the Highlands. inverness-courier.co.uk
• Border drug gang who planned to flood the north of Scotland with cocaine and heroin plead guilty (The Scottish Sun, September 22, 2022): Covers a county lines gang’s guilty plea for operations in northern Scotland, including Moray/Elgin. thescottishsun.co.uk

Dingwall

• County Lines drug gangs reach as far north as Alness, police confirm (Ross-Shire Journal, November 23, 2024): Highlights county lines operations extending to Alness (near Dingwall) and other Highland towns. ross-shirejournal.co.uk
• Police Scotland target County Lines drugs dealers (Grampian Online, May 27, 2021): Reports on arrests and seizures in a national crackdown, with mentions of Highland areas like those around Dingwall. grampianonline.co.uk
• Police seize drugs and cash in county lines crackdown (The Herald, undated but recent): Details seizures during operations targeting vulnerable people in rural Scotland, including Highland regions near Dingwall. heraldscotland.com

Thurso

• County lines gangs target vulnerable women in Highlands (BBC News, August 20, 2025): Covers exploitation in the far north Highlands, including Thurso areas. bbc.co.uk
• Highland police ‘success’ tackling County Lines drug gangs from the south (John O’Groat Journal, January 26, 2025): Discusses dedicated teams combating county lines in the Highlands, with operations reaching Thurso. johnogroat-journal.co.uk

Inverness

• County lines gangs target vulnerable women in Highlands (BBC News, August 20, 2025): Focuses on county lines forcing women into drug networks in Inverness and surrounding areas. bbc.com
• INVERNESS COUNTY LINES EXPOSED: 10 drugs gangs operating out of Inverness preying on the most vulnerable (Inverness Courier, November 22, 2024): In-depth report on 10 active county lines gangs in Inverness exploiting vulnerable people. inverness-courier.co.uk
• Highland Cops: Inverness police raids target violent drug gang (Press and Journal, October 13, 2025): Details raids on a violent county lines gang in Inverness. pressandjournal.co.uk
• Gangsters sending teen drug dealers to ‘terrorise’ Highlands as overdose deaths soar (Yahoo News UK/Daily Record, September 20, 2025): Reports on county lines gangs sending teens to Inverness and Highlands, contributing to rising overdoses. uk.news.yahoo.com
• Highland police highlight rise in drug offending with violent English gangs targeting vulnerable Highlanders (Ross-Shire Journal, August 12, 2025): Covers increasing county lines violence and exploitation in Inverness and Highlands. ross-shirejournal.co.uk
• County lines gangs targeted with weapons and drugs seized (Inverness Courier, December 5, 2024): Reports on seizures and safeguards in Inverness during a county lines operation. inverness-courier.co.uk

General Rural/Small Town Scotland (Relevant to Multiple Towns)

• Threats, violence and death as County Lines drugs gangs seize homes in towns and villages across rural Scotland (Sunday Post, February 10, 2019): Broad overview of county lines in rural areas, including Highlands and Aberdeenshire towns. sundaypost.com
• Crime gangs tighten stranglehold in Scotland as drug overdose deaths soar (Daily Record, October 19, 2025): Discusses county lines expansion into small towns across Scotland. dailyrecord.co.uk
• Rise in drug dealing in Scotland’s remote towns (1919 Magazine, April 1, 2025): Government report on increased drug misuse in remote towns, tied to county lines. 1919magazine.co.uk
• County Lines crackdown: 20 arrests in a week as heroin, high purity cocaine, cannabis a taser and two machetes seized (The Scotsman, May 27, 2021): National crackdown with impacts in Highland and northern towns. scotsman.com
• Police find 64 vulnerable homes taken over by drug dealers (STV News, May 27, 2021): Reports on cuckooing in county lines operations across Scotland’s small towns. news.stv.tv

And, remember Auchinleck in East Ayrshire?

County Lines Drug Gangs in AuchinleckAuchinleck, a small town in East Ayrshire, has been notably linked to county lines drug gang activity, particularly through a high-profile incident in November 2023. This involved alleged “cuckooing” by out-of-town drug dealers (reportedly from Bradford, West Yorkshire), where vulnerable residents’ homes were taken over for drug dealing. Community frustration led to large-scale disorder and riots, described by some as locals driving out the dealers. Coverage often avoids explicitly using “county lines” in mainstream reports but references cuckooing and external dealers. Below are relevant Scottish media links (from outlets like Cumnock Chronicle, Daily Record, Scottish Daily Express, and others), focused on direct or contextual ties to county lines-style operations in Auchinleck.Auchinleck

• The County Lines Riot: How Scots villagers took the law into their own hands to expel drug dealers (Scottish Daily Express, August 14, 2025): In-depth article detailing the 2023 riots as a community response to county lines dealers from Bradford moving into Auchinleck, using cuckooing tactics to supply drugs.
• Sentences cut for three jailed after ‘cuckooing’ riots in Auchinleck and Cumnock (Cumnock Chronicle, December 24, 2025): Reports on appeal reductions for riot participants; riots sparked by concerns over cuckooing by external drug dealers using local homes.
• Four in jail for Auchinleck ‘cuckooing’ riots after ‘young team got out of hand’ (Cumnock Chronicle, August 21, 2025): Covers sentencing for rioters; prosecutor notes suspicions of houses used by out-of-area drug dealers, with nearly £200,000 in damage caused.
• Police make arrests in relation to Auchinleck weekend mayhem (Daily Record, November 27, 2023): Initial coverage of the disorder, linked in later reports to anti-drug dealer protests.

Related East Ayrshire / Ayrshire Context

• ‘Criminal network’ in Ayrshire targeted as part of Operation Intensity (Daily Record, May 8, 2025): Details national police operation disrupting a county lines-style network operating in Ayrshire (including East Ayrshire), with arrests, drug seizures, and safeguarding of vulnerable people exploited by dealers.
• Arrests made and weapons seized by police targeting criminal network in Ayrshire (Irvine Times/Ayrshire Today, May 8, 2025): Similar coverage of Operation Intensity targeting gangs using couriers and safe houses in Ayrshire, explicitly referencing county lines exploitation.

Note: While Auchinleck’s case stands out due to the community backlash, direct police confirmations of specific county lines operations in the town are limited in media reports, often focusing on the riots instead. Broader East Ayrshire drug issues tie into national county lines crackdowns.

Is this why Scotland’s drug deaths though falling are not falling as fast as hoped?

Some analyses (e.g., independent research and police comments) link this to sustained high deaths, particularly as national declines in urban areas contrast with persistent or rising issues in rural Highlands (e.g., deaths up from 33 in 2020 to 42 in 2022 in some reports, amid gang activity). It counteracts harm reduction efforts by flooding new markets with potent supplies.