Parental experiences of the impact of grooming and criminal exploitation of children for county lines drug trafficking.

This article focuses on parental experiences of children involved in county lines (CL), an illicit UK drug supply model where children are often coerced into transporting and selling drugs across regions. Through in-depth interviews with 19 mothers of boys under 18 from diverse professional and ethnic backgrounds across England, the study identifies four key themes: sudden and unexplained behavioral changes in children, rapid escalation into violence and drug use, repeated failures of multi-agency interventions, and children's eventual adoption of destructive lifestyles often involving criminal leadership roles. The findings challenge the prevailing narrative that only traditionally vulnerable children are at risk, highlighting that children from stable, professional families are also affected, and emphasize the need to involve parents as a first line of defense through improved education, awareness, and multi-agency support to prevent escalation and protect families.