Man jailed for role in 'county lines' drug operation

A man who exploited vulnerable people to allow homes in Aberdeen to be used for a so-called county lines drugs supply network has been jailed.

Victor Kihu, 24, recruited people in order to allow the supply of Class A drugs from several properties, using the practice known as cuckooing.

He was a member of an organised crime group called Harlem, which operated between Aberdeen, Glasgow and Inverness.

Kihu admitted being concerned in the supply of drugs, and was jailed for six years and five months at the High Court in Glasgow.

County lines describes organised criminal networks that move illegal drugs between areas of the country, often relying on violence, exploitation and the coercion of vulnerable people to operate.

Kihu, from Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, recruited young people - some of them listed as missing - from deprived areas in England.

They supplied drugs from eight properties in Aberdeen between July last year and this January.

One person told how Kihu had threatened his life if he did not comply, and had taken his phone so he could not contact his family.

During the police investigation, it was established the sale and supply of drugs was being co-ordinated through numerous mobile phones, which were later found to belong to Kihu.

He was arrested on a bus in Perth.

He previously admitted his role in the operation at the High Court in Edinburgh last month.

Prosecutor Sineidin Corrins, from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), described cuckooing as "abhorrent" and having a "devastating" impact on vulnerable individuals.

"Seeking justice for people in our communities who are all too often coerced, groomed and threatened by county lines drug dealers is a priority for Scotland's prosecutors," she said.

"Victor Kihu deliberately targeted people who, under threats and intimidation, would carry out his coercive demands to let others use their homes for criminal conduct.

"But he is now in prison having been brought to account for his crimes."