The scourge of London’s “county lines” operation has been laid bare as figures obtained by The Standard reveal that children as young as 13 have been arrested by police for dealing drugs.
Metropolitan Police officers are detaining an average of 14 under-18s a week in the capital for supplying or intending to supply illegal substances.
Urban crime networks have been blamed for coercing youngsters in deprived communities to sell drugs on the city’s streets, as well as in neighbouring counties.
Teenagers were found with Class A drugs including heroin, ecstasy and cocaine, as well as Class B substances such as cannabis, ketamine and amphetamines.
The Standard contacted 44 police forces in England and Wales as part of its investigation. In total, 37 responded to Freedom of Information requests.
London accounted for nearly a quarter of children arrested for “Possession with Intent to Supply and/or Drug Supply Offences” between 2022 and 2024, at 2,185. Greater Manchester had the second most arrests, at 618.
Of those arrested in the capital aged 17 or younger at the time of the alleged offences, 43 were aged 13, 132 aged 14, 364 aged 165, 675 aged 16, and 970 aged 17. A 12-year-old was also arrested for possession with intent to supply
Cannabis — which the London Drugs Commission, commisioned by Mayor Sadiq Khan and chaired by fellow former Labour minister Lord Falconer, recommended removing from the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 — was discovered in most number of cases (974), followed by crack cocaine (388), heroin (362) and cocaine (286).
Alex Stevens, a professor in criminology at the University of Sheffield and a former member of the Home Office’s Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, warned that cuts to youth services, such as Sure Start centres, have lured youngsters into drug-related crime.
He added: “It is not surprising that the people involved are primarily young. But there is another dynamic in play. Prohibition pushes adult offenders to push children into drug offences. Adult drug dealers are exploiting vulnerable children.”
David Shipley, a former prisoner who now specialises in researching the prison system, said county lines gangs are offering children money and gifting them goods such as designer clothes in exchange for their help, yet are also playing on their “psychological fears”.
We need to treat children as victims
“You create an environment where this trade carries you,” he said. “There is a lot of typical grooming behaviour: these kids feel isolated, lonely, lack identity... the people who runs these gang are manipulators and corrupters.
“Children aren’t the key figures. They are right at the bottom. They are being coerced and manipulated. We need to treat them as victims.”
A Met spokesman said: “The sale and supply of drugs is a key driver of serious crime across our communities. It underpins violent gang activity and contributes to the exploitation of vulnerable young people through county lines.
“We are improving the way we protect children and bring those who would exploit or abuse them to justice, by increasing the number of officers trained in identifying child exploitation and increased the number of referrals to specialist teams.”
As well as this, 260 vulnerable or young people were engaged with and safeguarded to prevent their involvement in future organised crime.
