𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Police seized nearly 1,000 knives in one year from cruel drugs gangs that recruit children. The weapons were taken from “county lines” organisations which entice youngsters from big cities to work as drug-dealers nationwide. Forces say they believe they have prevented 800 stabbings over one year, based on a fall in hospital admissions.

The Home Office will this week announce a new £34 million drive to fight the trade, with a goal of halving knife crime within a decade. Crime and Policing Minister Sarah Jones said: “We are shutting down more criminal lines, busting more gang leaders and seizing more dangerous knives off our streets than ever before.”

New data released today shows 961 knives were seized in 2025, while 2,740 County Lines were closed and 1,657 gang leaders charged.

Gangs operate out of cities including London, Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool, known as “exporter” regions by specialist police officers. So-called “importer” regions, where children are sent, include Lancashire, Cheshire, West Yorkshire, Northumbria, Cumbria, Essex and Kent.

Gangs have traditionally recruited boys and young men, but a growing number of those targeted are girls.

British Transport Police are trained to spot children being transported. Youngsters that arrive at their destinations are provided with accommodation and a phone line to take orders from customers.

Other tactics include “cuckooing”, where the home of a vulnerable person is taken over by a drugs gang who may initially pose as friends of the resident.

Funding will support police operations including intelligence gathering on gangs, targeted house raids and drug seizures across the transport network.

The new knife crime programme will include support for young people at risk of becoming involved in crime.

Charity Catch22 is working with the Home Office to help young people who have been exploited by drugs gangs. Chief executive Naomi Hulston said: “Across our services we have seen a worrying trend of younger victims and an increasing impact on girls and young women, so collaborative approaches are even more vital.”

Detective Superintendent Dan Mitchell, Head of the National County Lines Coordination Centre, said: “We are now closing more lines, charging more violent offenders, and protecting more children and adults at risk of exploitation and other harms than ever before.

“As County Lines gangs’ methods evolve, our policing approach – led by the NCLCC – does too. We remain committed to pursuing high-harm County Lines and those controlled by violent drug dealers, so that we can prevent harm, protect children and vulnerable adults, and disrupt criminal activity.”

The Government is bringing in new laws making it a specific offence to “groom” a child to take part in crime, as part of the Crime and Policing Bill.

The Bill also creates new offences to tackle practices used by County Lines gangs, including taking over someone’s home to deal drugs and forcing people to conceal drugs inside their bodies.