Growing number of teens being exploited by drug gangs - charity

Exploitation of vulnerable young people in the Highlands by so-called county lines drug gangs has worsened, according to workers for a children's charity. Staff at Barnardo's Scotland say criminal groups are targeting youths in Inverness and threatening them with violence and rising drug debt. The charity leads the Anchor project in the city, a £450,000 initiative to protect youngsters from exploitation that has engaged with 400 young people since it started in 2023. Earlier this month, police said 12 gangs – mostly based in English cities – were operating in Inverness. It followed a nationwide operation to tackle the activity that saw 43 arrests and more than £900,000 worth of drugs seizures. BBC Scotland News was granted access to the Anchor project, which its staff believe is the first of its kind in Scotland. The project will soon be expanded to Aberdeen and the north east. Youth worker Ross said gangs tried to use vulnerable teenagers as so-called "runners". He said: "These are young people who are going to X location to pick up a certain amount of drugs. "More often than not they are chauffeured by people from these gangs, from area to area, from house to house." Ross – not h