Abstract
Part I of the book introduced the reader to the role of gangs and organised crime groups (OCG) in IDM, and more specifically the rise of the County Lines phenomenon. Thus far, the information provided was largely filtered through the lens of ‘official’ channels, i.e., the political establishment, law enforcement, and to a lesser extent the media. When combined with some past academic scholarship, a certain perception begins to emerge in the construct of the mind. This perception tends to hold certain views, such as: the IDM being a somewhat unified phenomena; that the IDM is run by sophisticated OCGs; that OCGs are violent, hierarchical outfits with set boundaries, alliances, and goals. Part II of the book looks to provide a counterbalance to the ‘official’ view by drawing upon the sample group involved in Britain’s IDM and County Lines activity. Part II consists of three chapters. These chapters are overarching themes which present the voices of the participants interviewed. These themes are ‘Illicit Drug Markets Today’, ‘Working County Lines’, and ‘Negotiating the Victim/Offender Nexus’.
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Notes
- 1.
Although having strong links to an OCG in Glasgow who aided the supply of drugs, and firearms, and money laundering services, the OCG was an independent entity and not the sub-group of a larger OCG body but was rather connected to other OCGs in Glasgow through loose and fluid criminal networks.
- 2.
The consequences of this incident can be seen in the BBC panorama documentary on Paisley Drug Wars.
- 3.
To help launder the proceeds of crime, the group set up a legitimate security firm. At the time, Ferguslie was undergoing regeneration and a security firm was sought to protect building supplies from theft. Gillespie’s brother worked on the initiative and as such his security firm was awarded the contract.
- 4.
An example is Steven ‘Bonzo’ Daniel who although his family originated from the rough Possil Park estate of Glasgow relocated to an immediately upper-class neighbouring suburb within close proximity. This is typical behaviour of many high-level players in West Scotland whereby the relocation to more prestigious areas which are never too far from the areas in which they originated (See Daily Record 2019).
- 5.
Note, the ages of participants are those that were recorded at the time of the interview. Thus, participants from the 2012–2016 may be older than the displayed age shows given that some interviewees may have been interviewed 5 years ago.
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McLean, R., Robinson, G., Densley, J.A. (2020). Illicit Drug Markets Today. In: County Lines. SpringerBriefs in Criminology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-33362-1_4
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