County lines drug trafficking

[7] The term "county lines" is used where illegal drugs are transported from one area to another, often across police and local authority boundaries.

[13] A 2020 report for the Home Office by Dame Carol Black states that the county lines drug trade involved 27,000 young people in the UK.

[17] In 2019, Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, blamed cuts in police numbers for the rise of county lines gangs.

[16] In 2018, a drug dealer, Zakaria Mohammed, age 21, from Aston, was convicted of offences under the Modern Slavery Act relating to "county lines" activities.

[18] In October 2019, a nationwide police crackdown led to the arrests of 700 people alleged to be connected to county lines trafficking.

[25] In November 2019, Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks announced that they would be featuring an issue-led storyline inspired by the county lines trafficking beginning in December of that year.