Bedfordshire child exploitation by drug gangs laid bare on TV
Police said following the missing person report, officers raided a house believed to be linked to drugs supply. During the investigation they identified people believed to be responsible for running a county drugs line and grooming young boys into carrying out drugs deals.
Last month, Bedfordshire Police launched its Lost Boys campaign which aims to educate parents, carers and young people about the signs of criminal exploitation and the consequences of becoming involved in illegal drug activity.They said these could be signs someone was involved in county lines activities:Repeatedly going missing from school or home and being found in other areasHaving money, new clothes or electronic devices but they cannot explain how they paid for themGetting high numbers of texts or phone calls, and being secretive about who they are speaking toA decline in school or work performanceSignificant changes in emotional or physical well-being
Mr Hales said: "This episode clearly shows how young people, and boys in particular, can be groomed and used by drugs gangs."The problem is that often they don't realise they are being exploited and that they are victims until it is too late."We're not here to criminalise young people who are victims themselves."As this episode shows we're interested in finding out who those people are at the very top of the drugs line and ensuring they are brought to justice."The exploitation of young boys by county drugs lines is a real issue not only in Bedfordshire but across the country."
Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
23 minutes ago
- BBC News
Boy, 14, assaulted at Mablethorpe skate park
Police are appealing for information after a 14-year-old boy was assaulted at a skate park in said the boy was kicked and punched by another teenager during the attack on Friday Nathan Price said it was an "awful" incident and the victim was "lucky to have walked away with injuries that he'll recover from".Lincolnshire Police said it is thought about 30 people were present at the Quebec Road site but none had come forward to speak. PC Price said: "Sadly, of all the people in the area at the time, not one has talked to us or proactively given us any information."That's a crying shame because we really need to investigate the exact details of this incident and hold those to account who need to be," he officer also appealed to parents to get in touch with police."Was your child in the skatepark on Friday night? If so, it's likely they saw this incident," he said."Please talk to your son or daughter and encourage them to talk to us. If the situation was reversed, we are sure that any parent would want to see the person who harmed their child held to account."Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here. Download the BBC News app from the App Store for iPhone and iPad or Google Play for Android devices
The Independent
27 minutes ago
- The Independent
Four arrests on second day of Trnsmt including knife possession and drugs
Four people have been arrested following the second night of Trnsmt in Glasgow. Police Scotland said alleged offences at the music festival included possession of a knife, drugs, breaching curfew and breach of the peace. It brings the total arrests so far around Glasgow Green this weekend to 10. Friday's arrests included for suspicion of hate crime, assault and outstanding warrants. Police said reports will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal. The number of arrests appears to be significantly down on the year before, when 40 people were arrested throughout the entire weekend. Those incidents included an assault that left a 16-year-old boy in hospital with serious injuries, as well as a sexual assault and drugs offences. Tens of thousands attended the festival on Friday for headline act 50 Cent, as well as The Script and other entertainers. Fontaines DC played on Saturday night before headliners Biffy Clyro. On Sunday night Gracie Abrams will perform before Snow Patrol closes the three-day event.
Daily Mail
28 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Millionaire benefactor who let The Salt Path couple move into his £1million farmhouse after being captivated by their story breaks his silence
The millionaire benefactor who let The Salt Path author Raynor Winn and her husband Moth move into his £1million farmhouse has broken his silence after claims she embezzled thousands from a former employer. Bill Cole, 58, let the couple stay at his stunning Cornwall farm, Haye at St Veep, after being deeply moved by their story of homelessness and Moth's health battle with corticobasal degeneration. But the benefactor claims he was left feeling 'gaslit' and betrayed by the pair after concerns they lied about Moth's health and concealed the real reason for their homelessness. Mr Cole said he was surprised with an announcement by Moth in 2021 that he had been 'told not to plan beyond Christmas ' due to his health, he told The Observer. But when Winn's third book Landlines was published in September 2022, Mr Cole read how in the winter of 2021, a neurologist told Moth his brain was 'normal' - around the same time he told his new landlord the devastating news of his poor health. 'I was reading it on the train, said Mr Cole, 'and I just went ''what the hell? It just makes no sense whatsoever''. 'I feel there is so much more we don't know about these people.' Inaccuracies in The Salt Path, including that the couple lost their home after Sally Walker - Winn's real name - was accused in 2008 of embezzling tens of thousands of pounds from her employer. The revelations create doubt about a central part of Winn's memoir - that the family were made homeless through no fault of their own. Mr Cole had been touched by the plight of the couple and wanted to ensure they wouldn't face homelessness again. 'I felt I was being gaslit,' he said. This week, Winn admitted she has 'deep regret' over mistakes made that led to allegations she embezzled from a former employer. In a bombshell statement, the best-selling writer claimed she was working during a 'pressured time' when errors were being made across the business. Winn, however, denied allegations the financial dispute with ex-boss Martin Hemmings had any relation to the story told in The Salt Path. She claimed the 'bad investment' with a lifetime friend that prompted the couple to lose their home related to an entirely separate legal case. It follows days of backlash against Winn's 2018 memoir - which has been accused of not being as 'unflinchingly honest' as initially billed. Nevertheless Winn has maintained the account given The Salt Path is accurate and described the allegations against her as 'grotesquely unfair' and 'misleading'. The author, who has sold more than two million copies of her book, also said this week she had been left 'devastated' by accusations her husband's illness was fabricated. Winn said: 'The dispute with Martin Hemmings, referred to in the Observer by his wife, is not the court case in The Salt Path. 'Nor did it result in us losing our home. Mr Hemmings is not Cooper. Mrs Hemmings is not in the book, nor is she a relative of someone who is. 'I worked for Martin Hemmings in the years before the economic crash of 2008. For me it was a pressured time. 'It was also a time when mistakes were being made in the business. Any mistakes I made during the years in that office, I deeply regret, and I am truly sorry.'
