The threat from drug trafficking
The number of people in this country whose deaths were caused by drug misuse increased last year. The last official numbers – for 2016 – attributed 2,593 UK deaths to drug misuse. Newer synthetic opioids – such as fentanyl - have contributed to this rise.
Opium production in Afghanistan and cocaine production in Colombia are at record levels. This increase in production has the added effect of a high level of drug purity at street level as the criminals have less need to use cutting agents, and this brings its own dangers. The chemicals necessary for amphetamine production continue to enter the country in volume, while street prices drop, again indicating rising availability.Evidence suggests crack cocaine use- a particular driver of violence -is rising in England and Wales, while demand for all common drug types remain high.
There is significant, and often deadly, competition between rival organised crime groups at all stages of class A drugs production and supply. There is also corruption at every stage of the drug supply chain, including through the use of corrupt port and airport officials.
Organised crime groups involved in drug trafficking are typically also involved in a range of criminal activity, and the profits from illegal drugs are used to fund other forms of criminal operations, including buying illegal firearms and financing terrorism.
Crime associated with drug trafficking is very often violent, with direct links to the criminal use of firearms and gang feud knife attacks, and traffickers frequently exploit young and vulnerable people. Cannabis gangs in particular are notorious for the trafficking and exploitation of Vietnamese children and other vulnerable people to carry out live-in work in dangerous cannabis factories.
County Lines
Urban street gangs play a key – and rising - role in the distribution of class A drugs, particularly heroin and crack cocaine. By their nature,County Linedrug networks tend to operate across police and local authority boundaries, although not exclusively.
County Lines are not defined by the distance between the point of control and the point of distribution, but rather the mechanism by which that method of supply is supported; namely the use of a mobile telephone line and the use of vulnerable adults and children to facilitate the distribution. Importing areas are reporting increased levels of violence and weapons-related crimes as a result of this trend.
Read more:pdfNCA Intelligence Assessment: County Lines, Gangs, and Safeguarding(146 KB)