Drug dealer aged 10 is arrested

A PRIMARY school boy was among 260 cases of children caught dealing illegal drugs including heroin, cocaine and ecstasy in Scotland in the last five years.

The 10-year-old was referred to the children’s panel in 2005/06 – one of 13 youngsters arrested in Tayside for drugs offences that year, the majority of them involving cannabis.

More than half of the country’s juvenile drug dealers were caught in Strathclyde, with children under the age of 16 referred to the Crown or children’s panel 131 times.

Strathclyde Police arrested one youth with 2,000 ecstasy tablets. Another drug bust led them to uncover a child cultivating 350 cannabis plants, which would have had an approximate street value of more than £100,000.

In another incident, a 14-year-old was arrested by Northern Constabulary supplying ketamine, a drug designed as a horse tranquilliser. The figures have led to calls for more to be done by children’s panels to stop youngsters not yet old enough to learn to drive from ruining their lives and those of others.

Robert Brown, Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesman, said: “I think we need to make the children’s hearing system more aware of this issue so they can work out how to tackle it.

“This is at the high end of youth offending and I wonder if we are tackling it sufficiently.”

Richard Baker, Scottish Labour justice spokesman, added: “It’s really shocking that children as young as 10 and 11 can be involved in this. We need to find the right interventions, by supporting social work, to make sure they are no longer involved. My concern is, at the moment, we are seeing stringent cuts to services that are fundamental in helping these children.”

John Lamont, Scottish Conservative justice spokesman, said: “It is alarming that so many children are involved in such serious criminal activity at such a young age.

“This provides yet more evidence that successive Scottish governments have failed to tackle Scotland’s drug problem. The signs are that the next generation of Scots are being blighted with the same problem, which is why we have to get addicts on the road to recovery so that more children can escape the living hell and bad example of living with addicted parents.

“We need a zero-tolerance approach to tackling drug abuse and that should apply regardless of age or background.”

There were also calls for greater support for the children involved.

Alison Todd, director of children and family services for the charity Children 1st, said: “It is obviously a concern that children as young as 10 are exposed to and are dealing Class-A drugs.

It is important that we don’t label these children as criminals.

“We believe that the clear need for support should be recognised, and the cause of their problematic behaviour should be investigated and addressed.”

The Scottish Crime and Drugs Enforcement Agency (SCDEA) which tackles organised crime and, in particular, large-scale drugs smuggling, has been attempting to educate children about the damage drugs can do, not just to them but to countries like Colombia. There, crops and forests have been razed by drug barons to make way for illegal production.

Detective Superintendent Alan Cunningham, of the SCDEA, said: “Those involved in serious organised crime are responsible for drug dealing in our communities and we know from intelligence that they are predominantly adult males in their mid to late-20s.

“These individuals are only interested in maximising their power and profit, and will use whatever means necessary to support their criminality, including exploiting vulnerable people such as young people.

“We have long recognised that enforcement activity alone will not tackle the drugs problem, and we recognise the need to educate young people and their parents and carers on the harms associated with the drugs trade, to prevent young people from getting involved, and encourage them to make positive lifestyle choices.”