Drug smugglers trying to bring illicit substances into the UK are taking bigger and more audacious risks during the UK lockdown, senior members of the UK police force have said. With such strict rules regarding country to country movement, it has become significantly easier to identify potential smuggling operations.
Using data analysis from the National Crime Agency, police have been able to make more large-scale drug seizures from the biggest transnational crime networks. The head of the agency’s drug threat section, Lawrence Gibbons, said that widespread restrictions on travelling, the massive reduction of available flights, and the limited options for getting from country to country have caused smugglers to take increasingly large risks. Those high-stakes decisions are costing them. Gibbons said, “Lockdown restrictions mean they are having difficulty moving drugs,” he said. “Because there is less opportunity, they are taking more risks by moving drugs in bulk.”
In times where there are fewer travel restrictions, smugglers can split their consignments between different people. That means that if one person does get stopped, others will make it through the border checks. Now, solo smugglers are bringing in larger quantities, and when they get caught, that is a huge win for customs officers and police. The result has been larger drug seizures, as smugglers become more and more desperate to bring illegal substances into the country.
It is not just on the international level, either. Even small-time, local drug dealers are having to move around while carrying more on their person than usual. To limit the time that they spend outside and the number of people that they interact with, UK drug dealers are pushing for larger sales quantities. Bulk deals are becoming very common, and disguises are being used as well. Mr Gibbons has said that many drug dealers are attempting to disguise themselves as NHS workers, joggers, or delivery drivers, wearing high-vis vests to make it look like they are delivering essential goods and supplies.
The director of the National Centre for Gang Research at the University of West London, Professor Simon Harding, has said that fake NHS badges are being sued by drug dealers hoping to fly under the police radar. He said, “On one hand, they really are heeding government advice on social distancing, but at the same time it is business as usual, and as people were panic-buying food, dealers were running bulk deals and selling lockdown party packs.”
The lockdown has seen drug prices fluctuate across the UK, although some places are seeing the cost of heroin double. Many dealers are not increasing the price due to a lack of resources. Instead, they are calling the elevated prices ‘risk money’. The drug charity Release has repeatedly called for the police in the UK to put less priority on the drug trade, warning officials that by making certain drugs harder to get, they are making it more likely that addicts will be encouraged to try harder and more harmful substances. Release spokesperson Niamh Eastwood said that purity levels on heroin and cocaine have become noticeably worse during the pandemic.
