DODGING needles in a crack den filled with “zombie-like” addicts, being beaten to a pulp and left terrified by threats to your family.
This is the grim picture of life inside ruthless drug gangs - as painted by former members now pleading for others not to make the same mistakes as them.
Police in Gravesend, a town blighted by drug gangsCredit: JOHN McLELLANChildren as young as 12 are reportedly being recruited by ruthless criminalsCredit: JOHN McLELLANThe reformed criminals are speaking to The Sun from Gravesend, Kent - a county where it is reported thugs are trying to recruit children as young as 12.
Disposable, cheaper than adults, easier to threaten into silence and less likely to face jail due to their age - kids are the fodder for callous drug lords only looking out for their own bank balance.
This week, the Houses of Parliament will hear damning testimony from Lennox Rodgers of The Refocus Project, a charity based in Dartford that helps those caught up in gang life.
Two New York cops stabbed during celebrations in Times SquareIt comes weeks after the Home Office revealed that Project Adder, a two-year operation aimed at disrupting dealers, has led to £9.8million being seized, 25,953 arrests and nearly 4,000 drug trafficking and 2,800 weapons possession charges.
Record levels of youngsters are involved in County Lines gangs - where members are forced to sell drugs across counties - according to the National Referral Mechanism report.
They found 1,785 children were referred for support in 2022 - a figure that’s just a speck on the modest estimate of 46,000 children across England involved in the criminal groups.
As part of The Sun’s investigation, we spoke to traumatised individuals who escaped the trade, as well as the family of one teenager who lost his life to it.
Forced to live in squalid squats amongst dirty needles and 'zombie' addicts, life as a dealer is far from glamorous - and even harder to leave behind.
Top row: Former gang members Davi De Oliveira, 22; Ezra Ashforth, 21; Jamal Barden, 21; Harrison Ibidunni, 20. Bottom: Lennox Rodgers of The Refocus ProjectCredit: Louis WoodCrack cocaine and heroin were being sold through a Gravesend network known as the 'G-line'Credit: JOHN McLELLANDavi De Oliviera, 22, fears he may “never recover” from two years spent in a County Lines gang, during which time he was threatened at knife-point and saw his future prospects collapse.
He started at 16, selling weed at college to make money, but after his family fell upon hard times ended up being recruited by a gang to “help out” relatives.
Davi would be sent away for up to two weeks to university towns, including 230 miles away to Manchester, to deal drugs.
He spent his days holed up in rancid 'trap houses' - homes used by heroin and crack addicts - from which he could sell his wares day and night.
At least nine killed after New Year's Day stampede at shopping centreDavi recalled: “The house stank and everything was dirty but I had to stay there. Before sitting on a sofa, I used to have to check needles. I barely slept.
“You’re living in horrible environments. It’s really traumatising. You’re chilling with crackheads who want you to sell them more crack. They are all f***ed up on drugs, like zombies.”
He made between £150-£400 a week, but often spent most of it on food, alcohol and drugs to numb the dark scenes he witnessed on the road.
Davi said: “It’s like the money is cursed. The more you make, the more you need to spend because you’re out on the road all of the time. It’s not a life for anyone.”
'Cursed' money
Davi fears he will 'never recover' from his criminal lifeCredit: Louis WoodMultiple attempts to leave failed and the seriousness of Davi's crimes were escalating.
Eventually he was promised a route out, but forced to commit fraud and money laundering in the process.
Bosses transferred £21,000 into his bank account, which he had to withdraw in Euros to pay to various people and transfer sums to other accounts.
He says: “They told me, ‘You’re going to have to do this if you want out’. They said it would be £10,000 and when £21,000 appeared in my account I panicked.
“When I stopped answering my phone out of fear, they sent pictures of my family’s house saying, ‘Where are you?’
“It was a clear threat. They wanted to beat me up and threatened to stab me.”
Without funds, Davi fell deeper into his overdraft and claims he was “blacklisted” by banks, meaning he couldn’t get another account, due to handling suspicious funds.
Fortunately, he was helped by Refocus, who “cleaned” his banking records and helped him to become a painter-decorator and paid for him to have driving lessons.
For those being drawn into County Lines, his warning is stark: “I’ll probably never recover from what happened. You could die or go to prison, what for a little bit of money?
“It’s much smarter to learn a skill and be your own boss, instead of trying to cut corners and make cash that is cursed.”
Knife edge
Ezra was chased out of rival 'turf' at knifepointCredit: Louis WoodKids as young as 12 are found to have been dealing in KentCredit: JOHN McLELLANEzra Ashforth, 21, became involved for three years after racking up debts of nearly £2,000 from smoking weed .
His initial role was “setting up a line”, which required him to travel to a target area at 6am, write out the gang’s phone number 100 times on paper and give it out to homeless people.
Ezra says: “We would go back a couple of months later when the line had been set up and sell drugs there, either out of a house or an abandoned bus garage. Chatham was a popular area for it.”
It was dangerous work. Ezra heard stories about people being "stabbed in the face” and was once chased by a rival dealer with a knife for ‘invading’ his territory.
He recalled: “Luckily, I’m very fast but when you’re running away from someone with a knife it’s like you’re in a dream, moving in slow motion. It was the most terrifying moment of my life.
“It was very, very, very scary. I had to jump into someone’s garden to escape. That one still shakes me to this day.
“Whenever I walk down a dark street at night, I look behind me every 10 seconds and am scared if I hear a noise. It’s traumatising.”
When you’re in debt to them the first thing they do is force you to bring them to your house. It’s so they know where you live and if you try to run away there will be repercussions
Ezra Ashforth
Ezra was trapped in the gang due to debt and, like Davi, felt cornered as they knew where he lived.
“They beat me up, I had a black eye and swollen side of my face,” he recalls.
“When you’re in debt to them the first thing they do is force you to bring them to your house.
“It’s so they know where you live and if you try to run away there will be repercussions. Whether it’s you, or your family, someone will be getting hurt.
“[The gang leader] was very manipulative and they switch up how they act at your home. When he left my mum told me, ‘He’s a really lovely boy.’”
Shortly after the attack, Refocus stepped in, paid off his remaining drug debt and helped him to get a job as a labourer.
Family pain
Refocus' headquarters are in Dartford, Kent - a town scarred by the actions of County Lines dealers.
Earlier this year, four gang members were sentenced to a total of almost 12 years in prison, after cops discovered a network known as the 'G-line' used to sell crack cocaine and heroin.
Kent Police say children as young as 12 are being sent from areas like London to deal drugs across the county, but insist the number of gangs has almost halved in three years.
The amount operating in the county has reduced from 82 in 2020 to 42 in March this year, the force told the BBC.
The National Crime Agency estimates each County Line can make in excess of £800,000 per year - and thousands are profiting from trade across the UK.
While efforts to crackdown are underway, families of former gang members say much more must be done immediately.
The National Crime Agency estimates each County Line can make in excess of £800,000 per yearCredit: JOHN McLELLANBenjamin Nelson-Roux, 16, was found dead by his mum Kate in August 2020Credit: Ben LackAmong them is the family of 16-year-old Benjamin Nelson-Roux, who was discovered dead in a Harrogate hostel by his mum Kate in August 2020.
Kate tells us the teenager was “groomed” by County Lines gangs to deal Class A drugs in cities including Sheffield, 50 miles away, and York.
She says: “Ben became more and more withdrawn from the family. We had always been very close.
“He regarded any attempt to spend time with him as an attempt to control him. Losing his trust was bewildering and heartbreaking.”
The family had tried to help him find a “hopeful future” through an apprenticeship or work experience, but believe the gangs manipulated him into thinking he had no other options.
Kate says: “Ben lost all sense of who he was and what was possible. His mental health difficulties spiralled with every threat and demand from peers and groomers.
“He told me ‘Mum, I'm lost to myself’. He was terrified of who he was becoming. He couldn't see a way out and couldn't trust anyone to help him.
“He started to believe that he had no options beyond dealing. He went back and forth between what we all believed was possible for him - and the hopeless vision of his groomers.
“He had unexplained injuries, became paranoid, and frequently self-harmed.”
What killed Ben is unknown. Two days before he died, he was deemed to be “at significant risk of death” in a Child And Adolescent Menthal Services (CAMHS) assessment.
A medical cause for Ben’s death could not be ascertained at his inquest and Kate says his toxicology results - relating to drugs - were “nothing above therapeutic levels”.
Tricks of the trade
The Refocus Project’s leader Lennox Rodgers knows full well about the trappings of criminality, having spent decades in crime and 15 years in prison.
His team has reached more than 30,000 kids since launching in 2005 and claims the gangs target families blighted by the cost of living crisis.
He says. “County Lines gangs approach kids in difficult situations. They pay for their meals, befriend them and before they know it they are trapped.
“They have to carry drugs, hide weapons and some suffer physical and sexual abuse. Girls are used to provide sexual services.
“If sales are good, some may give kids alcohol, drugs and a girl. They are making these kids grow up very fast.
“They are luring kids with vapes, gifts, cash and clothes to take up ‘business opportunities’ - often it’s advertised through social media.
“It’s very hard to show kids the threat from these gangs. You have to use lived-experience to try to discourage them and show it’s not a bed of roses.”
Gangs are luring kids with vapes, gifts, cash and clothes to take up ‘business opportunities’ - often it’s advertised through social media
Lennox Rodgers
It’s not just hard-up youngsters either. Lennox says there was a focus on grammar school kids and university students going into fields relevant to the drugs trade.
He adds: “Some gangs pay medical students to access certain drugs, others are paid to make or recreate drugs. Some agriculture students are paid to help them grow cannabis.”
Safeguarding expert Sonya Jones says it’s a "postcode lottery” for what help is available to parents of kids in County Lines gangs.
She says: “I work with a lot of parents and they tell us some local authorities are very good but others don't offer the level of support they need.”
Sonya works with We Are With You - a drug, alcohol and mental health charity that helps those groomed to by gangs.
She tells us the age of those targeted is “reducing quite considerably” with her hearing reports of kids as young as 10 being exploited.
She feels the UK needs to “start from scratch” with its approach to County Lines gangs, starting with gathering data for across the UK to help inform a national strategy.
She believes there needs to be a multi-agency approach – including police, local authorities, children’s health, early health and schools – to tackle this blight on society.
Sonya explains: “This has been going on for so long and we’re not getting anywhere. The numbers are increasing and children have lost their lives or suffered life-changing injuries.
“There needs to be wider recognition that young people are the victims, they are victims of modern slavery and they need support.”
For more information and support visit: refocusproject.org.uk or wearewithyou.org.uk.