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Gangsters are ruining one of UK's poshest towns with kids using ketamine on the streets

Harrogate, in North Yorkshire, has been a desirable destination for people to live and visit for centuries, often voted one of the happiest places to reside in the UK

[Harrogate]

Gangsters are said to be ruining one of the UK's poshest towns (Image: Andy Commins )

Harrogate, in North Yorkshire, with its breathtaking Victorian architecture, leafy avenues, and famed health-boosting spa waters, has been a sought-after place to live and visit for many years.

Frequently voted one of the UK's happiest places to live, it's also been labelled 'the third poshest town' in the country, trailing only Henley-on-Thames, and Bruton in Somerset. However, this picturesque gateway to the Yorkshire Dales is drawing more than just the well-to-do, as organised criminals increasingly view its relatively wealthy populace as an easy mark for the notorious county lines drug dealing menace.

Detective Superintendent Fionna McEwan, North Yorkshire Police's Head of Major and Serious Organised Crime, revealed to the Express that her area has witnessed an "explosion" of cocaine use and "more younger people using ketamine", along with drug gangs employing more advanced online methods to peddle their illicit goods.

[Harrogate in North Yorkshire]

Harrogate often scores highly as a happy and desirable place to live(Image: Getty )

However, lessons gleaned from the affluent streets of this spa town are now poised to be implemented nationwide, as the force has developed "ground-breaking" new strategies to safeguard the public and bring the kingpins of these drug gangs to justice.

North Yorkshire Police have recently celebrated significant victories, dismantling two major county lines operations known as the Jerry Line and Teddy Line over the past two years, as well as executing raids on 36 properties across the county this month. In April, four members of a county lines gang with ties to Albania were jailed for supplying cocaine and cannabis, and were ordered to repay more than 115,000 from their criminal profits under the Proceeds of Crime Act, reports the Express.

Gang leader Ermal Biba was discovered to own a house and other assets in his home country of Albania.

T/Det Supt McEwan explained: "The reality is Harrogate and North Yorkshire is a nice place to live, and it is a safe place to live comparatively, but the flip side of that because of the slightly more rural nature and the demographics, and because of the forces, the county areas, that border us, particularly West Yorkshire, it has for quite a long time been a target for county lines drug supply,".

"I do think there is sometimes a perception that we don't really have those sorts of problems, but unfortunately we do, there is a drug market and it's quite a lucrative one.

[Ermal Biba]

Ringleader Ermal Biba was jailed for 13 years and 6 months for his part in a county lines gang(Image: North Yorkshire Police )

"We are seeing more (ketamine) and we are seeing it shifting into a younger age bracket, which additionally has some really serious health implications around the impact to their bladder and other organs within their body. It is still not on the same scale as other drug use, but the intelligence picture is developing and we are seeing it more."

It's from these bustling West Yorkshire cities that organised drug gangs have repeatedly extended their ominous network of drug dealing towards rural Yorkshire. They often entrap young people to act as dealers, or take over the homes of vulnerable individuals for their operations, a tactic referred to as cuckooing.

However, it's the teenagers and young individuals who become ensnared in the county lines gangs' web that can suffer the most, not just from brushes with the law.

[Ben Nelson-Roux and his mum Kate]

Ben Nelson-Roux, pictured with his mum Kate, was found dead aged 16 after being exploited by gangs(Image: Family Handout )

Ben Nelson-Roux, hailing from Knaresborough, a town merely three miles from Harrogate, was coerced by drug peddlers into transporting and selling narcotics after he fell into debt following his first encounter with drugs at the tender age of 12.

Tragically, Ben was discovered lifeless by his mother, Kate Roux, in a hostel when he was just 16 years old in April 2020. In a heart-wrenching interview with ITV in 2023, Kate described her son as "was a really vulnerable child who was exploited and manipulated."

NHS- www.nhs.uk/live-well/addiction-support/drug-addiction-getting-help/.

FRANK - Drug support helpline and information - www.talktofrank.com.

Catch 22 - Offering specialist support and a rescue service for young people and their families who are criminally exploited through county lines - www.catch-22.org.uk.

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