Snapchat Ads Recruit Drug Mules

Parents have been warned by the police about the dangerous Snapchat ads that lure children into becoming drug mules for County Lines gangs.

The social media platform advertises offering up to £500 for those willing to sell drugs on weekends, as well as other rewards such as mobile phones, vapes, and clothing.

The police have been going into schools to explain the risks of drug runners recruiting children to courier weapons, cocaine, heroin, and cannabis across the UK.

According to the Evening Standard, county lines gangs have been using Snapchat as one of their main tools for recruitment.

Detective Chief Inspector Dan Mitchell, head of Scotland Yard’s county lines taskforce, admitted that policing this issue is challenging.

He mentioned that they are working with schools to build resilience in young people and give them the knowledge to understand the trap.

County lines gangs are often linked to serious violence and even homicide, making children vulnerable.

They are trafficked and subjected to modern slavery involving emotional and physical abuse. Victims are coerced through violence, blackmail, and debt bondage to hold and supply drugs.

Those involved use weapons and serious violence, including kidnappings, to intimidate and threaten victims.

Recent raids found 8.3kg of class A drugs, 37.6kg of class B, and over £650,000 in cash between 27 February and 5 March.

The Commission on Young Lives reported that children as young as nine are being forced by county lines drug gangs to pressure their grandmothers into becoming drug mules.

Criminals threaten to harm the child’s family if they refuse a request or try to pull out of the operation.

The final report by the commission found that the UK government is failing in its duty to protect young people.

It added that criminal gangs are using primary school children to run drugs, which is now “the norm.”

Once children are groomed into criminal activity, they have little choice to leave as they are controlled by the gang, many of which are now run by teenagers.

Recent government figures revealed that as many as 200,000 children in England aged between 11 and 17 are thought to be vulnerable to serious violence.

There were 11,600 instances where gangs were a factor and 10,140 in which child criminal exploitation played a part.