Coronavirus: Drug dealers ‘dress as joggers and use fake NHS ID badges’ in lockdown
Written by News on 07/05/2020
Drug dealers are dressing as joggers and using fake NHS ID badges to avoid police detection during the coronavirus lockdown, says an expert on gangs.
They are changing their tactics to avoid infection by doing letterbox drops or “drive-by sales” and throwing drugs from car windows after arranging deals by phone, Professor Simon Harding claimed.
Money is also being tossed on the back seat during the deals to keep items clean, said the director of the National Centre for Gang Research (NCGR) at the University of West London.
Prof Harding said: “On one hand they really are heeding government advice on social distancing.
“But at the same time it is business as usual and as people were panic-buying food, dealers were running bulk deals and selling lockdown party packs.”
He added: “Vehicles are being used more often to carry out deals arranged by phone, with products thrown from windows and money chucked on the back seat to keep items clean.”
Prof Harding said the COVID-19 lockdown is affecting the “county lines” gang model – which sees young and vulnerable people used as couriers to move drugs and cash between cities and smaller towns.
The new tactics have also led to a reduction in “cuckooing” – where gang members take over the home of a vulnerable person to cut, sort and deal drugs.
This is because it is seen as carrying health risks, he explained.
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“Sending groups of young lads out to Southend-on-Sea by train to carry drugs is too risky now, so increasingly dealers are driving runners around, or hiring local people to do the job,” said Prof Harding.
“Street gangs are being forced to find new tactics, such as shifting grooming and recruitment online to social media.
“This means young people can become ensnared in dangerous gang activity from their phones while their families have no idea and that is a worry.”
National Crime Agency director general Lynn Owens said last month that prices are going up with fewer drugs entering into the UK.
She said some drug dealers are trying to disguise themselves as key workers by wearing high visibility clothing or operating from supermarket car parks during the lockdown.
(c) Sky News 2020: Coronavirus: Drug dealers ‘dress as joggers and use fake NHS ID badges’ in lockdown
