Drug gangs running county lines networks have intensified their targeting of vulnerable young people across the Highlands. Workers at Barnardo’s Scotland say children as young as their early teens are being pulled into a web of debt, violence and criminal exploitation that grows harder to escape with every passing week.

The warning follows a Scotland-wide crackdown in March 2026. Police Scotland arrested 43 people and seized more than £900,000 worth of illegal drugs, including crack cocaine, heroin and ketamine. Officers also safeguarded 38 vulnerable individuals, nine of them children, and referred four people to the Home Office as potential victims of human trafficking and modern slavery.

‘Before You Know It, You Are in Deep’

The Anchor project sits at the heart of the response in Inverness. Barnardo’s Scotland runs the £450,000 initiative, which has engaged with around 400 young people since it launched in July 2023. Staff believe it is the first project of its kind in Scotland, and plans are now in place to expand it to Aberdeen and the north east.

Youth worker Ross, who asked to remain anonymous to protect those he works with, told the BBC that county lines gangs deliberately target teenagers already in difficult circumstances.

“The exploitation starts when some of these people are very young,” he said. “Sometimes they get involved through drugs misuse initially. Then before you know it, you are in deep.”

The approach is deliberately seductive. Gangs arrive with money, cars and an air of status. They offer a sense of belonging to young people who already feel overlooked. Once involved, leaving becomes almost impossible.

“It is kind of like dangling the carrot,” Ross said.

Gangs then manufacture debt, inflate figures and use violence to keep young people compliant. Ross said gangs use teenagers as runners, ferrying drugs from house to house across the city. Rival groups make the situation even more dangerous.

“Violence is days, minutes, seconds away from your doorstep. There have been a lot of incidents where machetes have been used. Knives. Stabbings.”

County Lines Networks: Twelve Gangs, One City

Police confirm at least 12 criminal groups currently run county lines operations in Inverness, a city of fewer than 50,000 people. Most gangs come from English cities. London, Liverpool, Birmingham and the Midlands all feature regularly in accounts given by young people affected.

Chief Inspector Craig Still led Operation Silentridge, the Inverness strand of the wider Scotland crackdown. He explained why gangs from hundreds of miles away set their sights on a small Highland city.

“They target Inverness because there is a relatively small community here of people who have experience of substance abuse,” he said. “They come with records of violence, they may have weapons, they use intimidation and they use children in terms of exploitation.”

During the operation, officers raided 32 properties in Inverness and arrested 16 people. Seven faced charges for drug supply. Police recovered heroin, cocaine and cannabis, more than £13,000 in cash, 22 mobile phones and two machetes. Three of those phones served as dedicated county lines handsets.

How County Lines Exploitation Gets Through the Door

Officers filmed by BBC Scotland News forced their way into properties where residents had barricaded doors with planks of wood, bricks and bed slats. Police say gangs reinforce entrances not only to slow down law enforcement but to hold off rival criminal groups.

Ch Insp Still described grooming tactics that county lines exploitation relies on to take hold in a community.

“People who are vulnerable and experiencing loneliness actually see the people coming into their homes as a positive influence on their lives,” he said. “But they then get asked to facilitate for other lines, which brings them into direct feud and conflict between the groups. That is when we see violence and vandalism.”

Nine of the 38 people safeguarded during the Scotland operation were children. Four went on to receive referrals to the Home Office as potential trafficking victims.

Filling the Gap Left by County Lines Gangs

Carol-Ann Crossan-Guruge, children’s services manager at the Anchor project, says the number of young people at risk in Inverness is “very significant” and the situation has worsened.

“We were identifying high numbers of young people who were being targeted, who were victims of exploitation. The resources simply were not there. We are trying to fill a gap.”

The project runs a drop-in hub with games consoles, table-top games and a kitchen. Young people come in off the street, find a warm space and connect with trained staff. Workers also head out on foot across Inverness city centre, approaching teenagers who look vulnerable and offering support before gang members can.

Teaghan Daly previously worked as a police officer in Inverness for a year before joining Barnardo’s. She said the true scale of county lines exploitation only became clear once she moved into community work.

“I knew things were happening such as exploitation, but I did not realise how widespread it was. As a police officer, you have the powers of arrest, but you do not have the power to actually help. I felt really powerless in that, to be honest.”

‘This Is Child Abuse’

Lesley Gordon of Action for Children did not hold back when describing what county lines gangs do to young people.

“The impact of criminal exploitation, including county lines, on the lives of children and young people is utterly devastating,” she said. “Exploiters inflict serious harm on children, their families and their local communities.”

Assistant Chief Constable Stuart Houston leads on organised crime and counter terrorism for Police Scotland. He said enforcement can only go so far.

“Organised criminals do not care about the people they harm. They only care about power and money. If something does not look or feel right, trust your instincts and report it. Even a small piece of information can make a real difference.”

The CashBack for Communities scheme, which channels money seized from criminal proceeds back into local programmes, looks set to provide further funding for the Anchor project. Its expansion to Aberdeen signals that county lines exploitation is no longer just an Inverness problem. It is spreading, and Scotland’s communities are pushing back.

Anyone with information about county lines activity can contact Police Scotland on 101 or report anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Source: dbrecoveryresources