Sheffield children used by city drug gangs to expand criminal networks into Scotland

Sheffield’s District Commander, Chief Superintendent Shelley Hemsley, said Scotland ‘is an emerging destination’ for drug gangs from urban areas, including Sheffield, trying to expand.

She said some children reported missing from Sheffield have been found in Scotland or are known to have travelled there.

Chf Supt Hemsley described it as a national problem.

In a report for South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner’s public accountability board, she said Sheffield’s Fortify team – set up to tackle organised crime – is mapping ‘county lines’ run by drug gangs between different areas.

“County Lines is a national problem as criminal gangs seek to expand their drug supply networks into other areas of the country, often using violence to displace and deter embedded criminals,” Chf Supt Hemsley said.

“Sheffield Fortify works closely with internal and external partners to identify and map these lines. Processes around intelligence collection are constantly evolving and improving, which is a complex issue due to the involvement of partners and police forces across force boundaries.

“Scotland is an emerging destination for county lines exported from urban areas including Sheffield, where reported missing children have been found there or are known to have travelled there. It is suspected that these children have been working for a criminal network involved in the supply of Class A drugs in the north of Scotland.”

She added: “Safeguarding processes include the referral of children into MACE, the Multi-Agency Child Exploitation meeting where children at risk of exploitation are assessed and safeguarding plans developed.

“The National Referral Mechanism is a process set up by the Government to identify and support victims of trafficking in the UK. NRM referrals lead to the creation of modern slavery investigations, for example where children are travelling across counties and being arrested in possession of weapons or drugs.

“At present these are investigated by either the child exploitation team or Operation Fortify. The investigations are complex because unfortunately the child rarely provides witness evidence and successful prosecution relies heavily on other investigative practices such as vehicle movements and call data.

“The Fortify team are developing intelligence around several exported county lines by Sheffield offenders including to surrounding counties and to Scotland.”

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