The children's commissioner for England has estimated there are nearly 50,000 children in England involved in gang activity, with around 4,000 teenagers in London alone being exploited through "county lines". County lines is a police term used to describe urban gangs and organised criminal networks involved in exporting illegal drugs to suburban areas and market and coastal towns using dedicated mobile phone lines or "deal lines". More than 1,000 county line gangs are believed to operate in Britain making an estimated £1.8bn annual profit between them. These gangs exploit children and vulnerable adults, using coercion, intimidation and violence, to move and store drugs and money.
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