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From BBC Tayside and Central today, the above and:

Police Scotland has targeted a number of suspected brothels across Stirling and Falkirk as part of a national strategy to address prostitution and sexual exploitation. The BBC was given exclusive access to a raid and witnessed officers simultaneously entering a business and a flat where they carried out searches and seized items.

Officers have also undertaken welfare visits to speak to people they believe are involved in prostitution, and police staff with expertise in human trafficking were also involved. The raids are part of Operation Begonia, which is aimed at cracking down on the sex trade in Scotland.

and:

Det Insp Forbes Wilson who led Friday’s operation told BBC Scotland News the “landscape” for prostitution across Scotland had changed.

“Gone are the days where off-street prostitution is just occurring in the bigger cities. It’s happening today, it’s happening within the towns, the villages and the communities in Forth Valley,” he said.

Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg4geq7gk9ko

What does that remind you of? That business model? County Lines drug gangs, a plague across hundreds of small towns and villages in Scotland, pushing up death rates and crime and all of it, organised by gangs from large English cities.

Are County Lines gangs already in this business?

A quick but fully sourced, AI response that BBC Scotland staff well know how to do but do not in this case:

Based on available information, there is evidence that county lines gangs—typically originating from urban areas in England such as London, Liverpool, and Birmingham—have expanded operations into Scotland, primarily for drug distribution but with documented overlaps into sexual exploitation and, in some cases, elements of prostitution. ^{https://www.npcc.police.uk/SysSiteAssets/media/downloads/publications/publications-log/national-crime-coordination-committee/2025/county-lines-strategic-threat-risk-assessment-fy-2024-25.pd}f

While county lines is predominantly drug-focused, UK-wide evidence shows it frequently involves sexual violence and exploitation as tools for control, gratification, or profit. ^{https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/who-we-are/publications/234-county-lines-violen-ce-exploitation-drug-supply-2017}

Key overlaps include:

• Sexual abuse and grooming: 35% of UK police forces report sexual exploitation in county lines, with an additional 9% noting possible cases; this includes grooming victims with drugs/alcohol, filming assaults for humiliation, and abusing “girlfriends” of gang members. ^{https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/who-we-are/publications/234-county-lines-violen-ce-exploitation-drug-supply-2017}
• Children and young people (as young as 6-7) are at high risk, with overlaps into child sexual exploitation (CSE) reported by 26% of forces. ^{nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk +2}
• Prostitution elements: Gangs force victims into prostitution to settle drug debts (e.g., pimping partners), use sex workers as recruiters or drug couriers, or exploit premises linked to sex work (reported in 33% of forces). ^{https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/who-we-are/publications/234-county-lines-violen-ce-exploitation-drug-supply-2017}
• This can extend to modern slavery, human trafficking, and forcing individuals into sex work as part of broader exploitation. ^{https://www.police-foundation.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/oc_in_local_communities_final.pdf}
• In Scotland, while direct cases are less detailed, police efforts like Operation MARRON target county lines for exploiting vulnerables in drug activities, with awareness of ties to sexual exploitation in prostitution. ^{https://www.gov.scot/publications/trafficking-exploitation-strategy-fifth-progress-report/pages/3/}

These patterns align with broader UK organized crime, where at least half of brothels in some areas (e.g., Bristol) are linked to groups involved in trafficking and sexual exploitation, though not always labelled as county lines. ^{https://www.police-foundation.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/oc_in_local_communities_final.pdf}

Grooming gangs (often with disproportionate Asian ethnic backgrounds in some reviews) have been prosecuted for similar abuses, including in northern England towns with spillover effects, but these are distinct from—but sometimes overlap with—county lines. ^{https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-audit-on-group-based-child-sexual-exploitation-and-abuse/national-audit-on-group-based-child-sexual-exploitation-and-abuse-accessible}

BBC Scotland have not exposed these links to England for the drug gangs, these last 7 or more years, so they were never going to do it for this new plague.

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:

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Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04  Account - 12266421 Name - JOHN ROBERTSON