County lines is the practice of inner-city criminal gangs coercing vulnerable adults and children (often as young as 12) to carry and sell drugs to market and coastal towns in the UK.
There are more than 2,000 of these drug routes across the country, producing over a billion dollars in profits a year.
In 2022, the Children’s Society estimated that more than 46,000 teenagers were being groomed (in some cases, kidnapped and raped) into selling drugs. These kids are made to skip school and sleep in a drug den for prolonged periods without their family's knowledge.
Despite these kids being victims of trafficking, under the Modern Slavery Act, they’re often still charged with weapon offenses, which they arm themselves with as protection against addicts and opposing gangs.
