Child victims of human trafficking prosecuted despite CPS rules – The Guardian

‘Young British victims of human trafficking who have been forced to sell drugs in county lines operations are being charged and prosecuted despite guidelines against doing so, the Guardian can reveal.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 17th September 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

County lines epidemic blamed as number of children missing or linked to drugs gangs doubles – Daily Telegraph

Posted September 16th, 2019 in children, drug trafficking, gangs, missing persons, news by tracey

‘County lines drug networks have been blamed for a huge spike in the number of children identified as having links to gangs, after the figure more than doubled in three years.

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Daily Telegraph, 15th September 2019

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Albanian crime boss who ran multi-million pound drugs racked ordered to pay only £14,380 – Daily Telegraph

‘An Albanian drugs kingpin who ran a multi-million pound cocaine racket only has to pay back £14,380 after the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) requested a “risible” sum, a judge has complained.’

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Daily Telegraph, 4th September 2019

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Gang guilty of London to Cornwall county lines drug operation – The Guardian

Posted September 4th, 2019 in children, conspiracy, drug trafficking, gangs, news, young offenders by sally

‘Seven gang members have been found guilty of running a sophisticated county lines operation in which heroin and crack cocaine were shipped from London to Cornwall with vulnerable young people exploited to sell drugs.’

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The Guardian, 3rd September 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Man jailed for driving into PC near Stafford 10k race – BBC News

‘A banned driver who crushed a police officer against a fence before dragging her along has been jailed for 12 years.’

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BBC News, 2nd September 2019

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Modern slavery: Are British victims being failed in the UK? – BBC News

Posted September 2nd, 2019 in drug trafficking, forced labour, homelessness, news, prosecutions, statistics by sally

‘Michael was homeless when he was approached by a couple to sell drugs.’

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BBC News, 2nd September 2019

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Man jailed for swallowing 67 cocaine wraps before flying from Brazil to Heathrow – Crown Prosecution Service

Posted August 19th, 2019 in airports, drug offences, drug trafficking, news, sentencing by tracey

‘A man who swallowed 67 wraps of cocaine before taking a flight from Brazil to London has been jailed for four years.’

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Crown Prosecution Service, 16th August 2019

Source: www.cps.gov.uk

£100 million crackdown on crime in prison – Ministry of Justice

‘Airport-style security and cutting-edge technology to crack down on criminal activity in prisons.’

Full press release

Ministry of Justice, 13th August 2019

Source: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice

‘Chicken shop’ drug gangs recruit children with food, inquiry finds – The Guardian

Posted August 12th, 2019 in children, drug trafficking, gangs, news, offensive weapons, select committees by tracey

‘Criminal “chicken shop gangs” are recruiting children to deal drugs with the offer of free food, a parliamentary investigation has found. So-called chicken shop grooming was described in written evidence submitted to the youth select committee, which is investigating the UK’s knife crime epidemic.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 12th August 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Man jailed after his own dashcam filmed him dealing drugs – The Guardian

Posted August 1st, 2019 in drug offences, drug trafficking, news, sentencing, video recordings by tracey

‘A drug dealer has been jailed after he was caught in the act by his own car’s dashboard camera.’

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The Guardian, 31st July 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

16 sentenced after south-east England ‘county lines’ drug sting – The Guardian

Posted July 29th, 2019 in drug trafficking, news, sentencing by sally

‘Sixteen people have received prison sentences for transporting and selling class A drugs as part of a “county lines” operation in south-east England.’

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The Guardian, 26th July 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Serial killer Stephen Port’s drug dealer convicted – BBC News

Posted July 16th, 2019 in drug offences, drug trafficking, fraud, internet, murder, news, rape, theft by tracey

‘A serial killer’s drug dealer who targeted victims through gay dating apps has been found guilty of murdering a businessman with an overdose of GHB.’

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BBC News, 15th July 2019

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Police use of child spies in criminal gangs is lawful, high court rules – The Guardian

Posted July 9th, 2019 in children, drug trafficking, gangs, news, police, spying by sally

‘Police recruitment and use of child spies to penetrate “county lines” drug gangs and other criminal or terrorist organisations is lawful, the high court has ruled.’

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The Guardian, 8th July 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Inside the 21st-century British criminal underworld – The Guardian

‘There are almost 5,000 criminal gangs in the UK. But the old family firms are gone – today’s big players are multinational, diversified and tech-savvy.’

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The Guardian, 4th July 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

HMP Birmingham: Scanner funding failure ‘inexplicable’ – BBC News

‘A troubled jail’s failure to secure funding for a body scanner to help stop drugs being smuggled in is “inexplicable”, the chief inspector of prisons has said.’

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BBC News, 18th June 2019

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Cocaine gang jailed after £20m seizure on M6 in Cheshire – BBC News

Posted June 12th, 2019 in conspiracy, drug offences, drug trafficking, gangs, news, sentencing by tracey

‘Two drugs gang bosses have been jailed after cocaine with a street value of £20m was seized from a van on the M6 in Cheshire.’

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BBC News, 11th June 2019

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Mother of epileptic girl ‘shattered’ after medical cannabis oil seized for second timeMother of epileptic girl ‘shattered’ after medical cannabis oil seized for second time – The Independent

Posted June 7th, 2019 in children, confiscation, drug offences, drug trafficking, medicines, news by tracey

‘A mother attempting to bring medical cannabis into the country for her severely epileptic daughter said she was “exhausted and shattered” after a second batch was seized by authorities.’

Full Story

The Independent, 7th June 2019

Source: www.independent.co.uk

London man convicted over role in £40m international steroid smuggling gang – The Independent

Posted June 6th, 2019 in conspiracy, drug trafficking, national crime agency, news by tracey

‘A man who played a role in a £40m international steroid smuggling ring arranged dozens of unlicensed shipments of the drug from India into Europe, a court heard.’

Full Story

The Independent, 6th June 2019

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Number of UK child slavery cases up by nearly 800% in two years, figures show – The Independent

‘Child slavery cases in the UK have surged by nearly 800 per cent in just two years, new figures show. Data published in the Modern Slavery Police Transformation Programme’s annual report show there were 475 police operations into child slavery in the UK last month, compared with 53 in April 2017.’

Full Story

The Independent, 22nd May 2019

Source: www.independent.co.uk

First county lines drug dealing gang jailed using modern slavery laws – Daily Telegraph

‘Three drug dealers have become the first gang to be jailed under modern slavery laws for using children to traffic crack cocaine and heroin in so-called county lines operations.’

Full Story

Daily Telegraph, 14th May 2019

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk