I hear “county lines” referenced a lot – something to do with gangs / youth culture, but the background has completely passed me by. Can you explain?
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As other people have commented, you can think of this as being like a business model for organised crime, especially drug supply. If you are based in, say, London and you want to expand your business but don’t want to start a turf war with neighbouring businesses, then one way to do this is to expand to more distant locations outside of London. The model usually involves a customer facing operation centred around a phone number / line and a whole set of logistics around how to maintain supply. It is a model usually associated with exploitation of vulnerable people, such as using children to move the products and operating out of the homes of vulnerable people (cuckooing).
Describing this loosely in business terms is in no way meant to legitimise this activity. It is harmful and damaging to the people being exploited and to the communities they operate within. It has been success for the business owners because much of this can be organised at a distance with various levels of separation from the risks taken by people on the ground or lower down the operation.
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