In the P&J, two days ago, the report on the left suggests a puzzling change of heart by a senior judge. It’s really difficult to understand this given what he said in July, on the right, and what it must have been based on:
Police report a notable increase in drug offences in Inverness. Gangs target the region because of demand, less competition, and vulnerable people. Cases involve women and sometimes children being coerced into the networks. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwy0xdxdl40o
How widespread and how damaging have county lines gangs been in the Highlands?
They are not as pervasive as in major English cities or urban Scotland, but their impact is disproportionately damaging due to the region’s vulnerabilities. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwy0xdxdl40o
The harm extends far beyond drug sales, involving exploitation, violence, and community disruption:
Exploitation of vulnerable people:
- Heavy targeting of vulnerable women for “cuckooing” — taking over their homes to store/sell drugs and sometimes forcing them into dealing. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwy0xdxdl40o
- Children and vulnerable adults used as runners or mules; cases documented in the region.
Drug supply and health harms:
- In 2024/25: Seizures of 6,300 crack cocaine deals, 1,030 heroin deals, over £30,000 cash and 92 arrests. https://www.highland.gov.uk/download/meetings/id/85418/5_police_performance_report
- Fuels addiction, overdoses, and related health issues in a region with limited services. Cocaine/crack markets have grown notably.https://www.ross-shirejournal.co.uk/news/county-lines-explained-inverness-cocaine-market-426366/
Violence and crime:
- Linked to intimidation, weapons, and serious organised crime. Gang members often have prior violent/gun crime records. Increases in associated offences like theft, assaults, and exploitation.
Community and social effects:
- Erodes trust in neighbourhoods (unfamiliar faces, increased foot traffic, cuckooed homes).
- Strains housing, social work, NHS, and policing resources.
- Long-term damage to young people drawn in or exposed, plus economic costs from crime and lost productivity. https://medcraveonline.com/FRCIJ/the-socioeconomic-effects-of-organised-crimes-county-lines-on-the-united-kingdom-community.html
Are they all from England?
Police Scotland consistently identifies the gangs as coming from urban centres in England, particularly:
- London
- Liverpool (Merseyside)
- Birmingham (West Midlands)
- Derby and other Midlands areas
These groups send associates (often young men in their late teens or early 20s with histories of violence) north to set up operations, import drugs, and exploit locals. https://www.highland.gov.uk/download/meetings/id/78251/3_police_-_area_performance_report
The organising gangs and “line holders” are typically from English cities, they recruit or coerce local Scottish facilitators, vulnerable residents (including women and sometimes children in the Highlands), and runners. Some lower-level operatives or cuckooed home occupants are from the local area. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwy0xdxdl40o
Discover more from Talking-up Scotland
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Talking-up Scotland 
It is worthy of note that the right wing vigilante groups who get extensive coverage in the media when demonstrating outside places where asylum seekers are being housed use, as one of their justifications, that the young male asylum seekers are prone to sexual predation on women.
As you indicate, young women – and other local people – are being exploited by County Lines gangs, yet there are no reports in the media of right wing vigilante activity against these gangs. Indeed, when residents in Cumnock acted against a Country Lines gang in the area, the media reporting was hostile to the locals.
I am not advocating the right wing vigilantes take action! I am highlighting the fact that they use protection of women as a pretext for racial harassment and that the media collude in this. While local media are campaigning against County Lines gangs, the mainstream media in Scotland give scant coverage. BBC ‘Scotland’, for example, has not produced a programme similar to its recent, much criticised one, about crime issues in the St Enoch Square area of Glasgow.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I was wondering if the 2 are actually linked – far right groups exploiting the fears ordinary people have for county lines gangs which often include migrants. If people assume these gangs consist of people from other countries who are not like us and who are a threat to our values, are they then conflating 2 different problems both of which are being used to stir up division and fear? Should parties such as the SNP then be openly explaining the county lines stuff is actually a different issue but that they understand why people wrongly believe it is a migrant issue?
Not sure if this makes sense even as I write it, I’ll be interested to hear different perspectives when I log in this evening
LikeLike
Send them to England the English courts can deal with their despicable crimes.Why should Scotland lose out even further by spending money on trials, but if they do, why softly softly on such serious heinous criminals? It seems very suspicious.
LikeLiked by 1 person
“Sheriff Cruickshank stopped short of following through on his warning after learning that the young first offender had distanced himself from negative influences and was now in employment.”
One wonders if co-operation with ongoing Police Scotland enquiries may also be a factor here?
LikeLike