Introduction

The prior chapters have looked at the initial planning involved in establishing county lines, the first steps of the operation, the challenges and opportunities, and some of the ways our interviewees managed personnel and product. This chapter picks up the story in A-Town several months later, when the county line is in full flow. This chapter is the point where pride and greed start to erode away trust within the group, and where conflict arises such that the gang back in Glasgow needs to intervene to prevent the group in A-Town from tearing itself apart.

What goes up …

As the weeks progressed, the line was running about as well as could be expected. The gang in Glasgow had their man in place, Grease, who was their general in the field. Allan was working hard to ensure adverting and logistics were running smoothly, putting out deals on the hotline and over Snapchat, and likewise ensuring that drug shipments were stored and dropped off at Stacy’s every other day for Robert to sell in daytime hours. Jack was handling the night shift, doing direct deliveries with Davey, and Robert now had a bike, a BMX he stole from someone’s front garden and spray-painted in an effort to not get caught. He had studied the town map, learned the short cuts and was getting good at direct sales.

In fact, Robert had become quite friendly with some of the local youth in town, including the boys he sold Valium to on his first day. One of the boys, Adam, was Stacy’s second cousin, and he recognized Robert when he stopped by Stacy’s house one afternoon with his mother and eventually got Robert to bring him in on the line. Robert was now dating Stacy (which was no surprise given how much time they spent together) and basically living with her full-time. This helped assuage his gran’s fears that Grease was the only reason Robert was still in A-Town.