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County lines: Girl drug runners in the UK

The untold story of girls trapped in the violent world of cross-country drugs gangs in the UK.

New figures released in the UK have revealed at least 4,000 young people are currently caught up in what are known as "county lines" – meeting orders for heroin and cocaine via mobile phone "deal lines". They are transporting drugs from cities to rural and coastal towns, and carrying weapons too – knives, hammers and acid. Many find themselves selling drugs in a strange town, trapped, too scared to leave. Increasingly, when police raid the "traphouses" where the drugs are held, they are finding girls. For Assignment, Jane Deith hears the stories of young women caught in a world of sexual violence and drug running.

Reporter: Jane Deith
Producer: Emma Forde

(Photo: Young woman by a window. Credit: Cindy Goff/Getty Images)

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26 minutes

Podcast