Drugs: Organised Crime

(asked on 9th November 2021) - View Source

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the national county lines operation reported by the National Police Chiefs Council on 21 October 2021, how many people have been charged with criminal offences in respect of the act of cuckooing; and of those charged, how many charges have been brought under section (a) one and (b) two the Modern Slavery Act 2015.


Answered by
Kit Malthouse Portrait
Kit Malthouse
This question was answered on 19th November 2021

As a part of our County Lines programme we are supporting the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre (NCLCC) which has been established to strengthen the law enforcement response and enable police forces to work together to tackle this complex issue.

The NCLCC regularly coordinates weeks of intensive action against county lines gangs, which all police forces take part in. As reported by the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC), the most recent of these took place between 11-17 October and resulted in more than 1,400 arrests, nearly £2m worth of class A drugs, over £1m in cash and nearly 300 weapons seized, more than 2,600 vulnerable people safeguarded, and 894 cuckooed addresses visited.

The NPCC do not report on charges for the week of intensification. However, the NCLCC have identified all national law enforcement initiatives in relation to ‘cuckooing’ and are sharing best practice. Examples include working with local authorities and housing associations to disrupt this malicious crime and signpost vulnerable victims to support.

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