Exploited teenager found during county lines raids in Luton as six people arrested

A teenager police believe may have been trafficked from Brighton has been found inside a property in Luton with around 100 wraps of suspected drugs.

The 17-year-old was discovered and safeguarded by Bedfordshire Police officers during a dawn raid on a Brook Street address on March 6. The force said: “An National Referral Mechanism referral was made for the 17-year-old and safeguarding is owned by children’s services in Brighton along with Sussex Police.”

Two men in their 20s were arrested at the scene on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs.

On March 4, police searched two addresses on Grove Road and Waleys Close, believed to be cuckooed “by one of the county’s most prolific gangs - known to exploit vulnerable children”, the police said. A man and woman in their 30s were arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs.

Cuckooing is a term used to describe when criminals take over a person’s home for illegal activities, like making drugs or storing money and weapons.

Later in the same week, a man in his 20s of Bedford Road and another in his 40s of Olympic Way were arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs and possession with intent to supply cannabis respectively.