00:00Cocaine is booming in the Highlands.
00:03The increase of the white stuff has
00:05seen devastating consequences.
00:08Police seized a recorded 6,000
00:10to 300 individual deals of crack cocaine in the area.
00:15Figures recently released show that almost 50%
00:18of young people in the Highlands seeking
00:20drug and alcohol support are using cocaine.
00:25But gone are the days when traditional
00:28rural smuggling methods, which had
00:30urban bases in cities like Glasgow were used.
00:33Instead, today's industry
00:35is ruled by a highly organised
00:37county lines model.
00:39Relying on a net
00:40network of low-level operatives
00:42and vulnerable subordinates.
00:44One of those are
00:45agents.
00:46Essentially the mule of the operation,
00:48these people are sent to do the dirty work.
00:50while the organised group stays behind the scenes.
00:53These agents are often young men
00:55with criminal records or people
00:57from disadvantaged backgrounds.
00:59One tactic
01:00used are phone lines, which are key
01:02to control and coordination
01:03in these county line operations.
01:05and serve as the main communication link
01:07between suppliers,
01:09distributors,
01:10and customers.
01:13Typically, a dedicated
01:15mobile phone number,
01:16known as the dealing line,
01:17is used to take drug orders
01:19via calls,
01:20or encrypted messaging apps.
01:25Trust is essential
01:27for all these jobs and operations.
01:30In the world of county lines,
01:31this need is often met
01:33by the controller.
01:35They operate behind the curtain,
01:38coordinating the supply chain,
01:40directing distribution,
01:41and exploiting vulnerable individuals
01:43to run the operation.
01:45This image
01:46shows county lines controller
01:47Ryan Finley
01:48who was jailed
01:49for the supply of
01:50cocaine in Inverness.
01:51While only three or four lines
01:52operate in the city
01:53at any given time.
01:55drug enforcement expert
01:56Mike Kosh revealed
01:57any one line
01:58can make up to three
02:00to four thousand pounds
02:02a day.
02:03And that's just the cases
02:04they know about.
02:05it's highly likely
02:06that there are many more
02:07lines in operation.
02:08Police Scotland is working
02:10to make Inverness
02:11a hostile environment
02:12for these gangs.
02:13But their exploitative
02:14and complex
02:15methods make them hard
02:16to disrupt.
02:17It's likely that
02:18county lines crime
02:19is created
02:20closer than you think.
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