Gangs make drug debtors deal and steal

Drug users who fall behind with payments to their dealers are being targeted by a vicious new breed of gangster who purchases their debts and then uses extreme violence and intimidation to obtain payment.

The National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) has expressed alarm at the trend which has resulted in serious injury and death over small amounts of money.

In one case a man who owed his cannabis supplier £50 was attacked by two strangers who punched him repeatedly, sprayed ammonia in his face then shot him in the leg. In other cases, businesses have been firebombed and house windows have been shot out in an attempt to intimidate the owners. A spate of shootings and stabbings in the north of England in recent weeks is being linked to drug debt enforcement and battles to control this lucrative new market.

The gangs "buy" debts by offering dealers an instant payment of around half the outstanding amount. They then pursue the debtor, claiming the full amount plus interest and "expenses" that may amount to several times the sum owed. They can act with relative impunity as the debtors are reluctant to involve the police.

Roger Gaspar, director of intelligence at NCIS, told The Observer: "We are seeing the start of an alarming trend. It appears to be organised and there is often extreme violence, even though the amounts of money may be relatively small."

Debtors who are unable to raise money are forced to sell drugs themselves, sell their possessions or steal.

Last month heroin addict Clifford Shepherd told Basildon Crown Court that he had been forced to burgle homes to pay off his drug debts. He said he was accompanied on his crime spree by a debt collector until his £800 drugs bill was paid off. The gang member would point out properties to be raided and Shepherd would hand over all the stolen items. He was jailed for four years.

Last week former Brighton pub landlord Christopher Mayne was jailed for six years after a court heard he had been forced into making daily trips into the town centre to sell heroin and other drugs after falling behind with payments to his own dealer, who sold on his debt.

A defence of acting under duress because of drug debts is becoming increasingly common at courts across the country. However, judges are reluctant to take such claims into account as, even where there is strong evidence of violence having been used, there is often little to support the defendant's version of events.

When Raymond Griffith ran up debts of several thousand pounds to a gang in Newcastle, he arranged to repay the amount over several months. However, the debt was purchased by a gang of third-party enforcers and Griffith was told to travel to London and pick up £250,000 worth of Ecstasy tablets or be executed. Detectives from the National Crime Squad followed him and arrested him as he picked up the drugs in a pub at King's Cross station. Last week Griffith was jailed for seven years.

In August, 18-year-old Brian Kinnear was jailed for eight years after carrying out a cowardly attack on 84-year-old Catherine McKenzie. He claimed he had been acting under duress in order to pay off a drug debt of just £13. His victim died three days later.

Last summer, 22-year-old Christopher Munro was jailed for four years after holding up a petrol station at gunpoint. He told the court he had been forced to commit the crime in order to repay a £800 drug debt.

The use of third-party debt collectors is being blamed for an astonishing rise in the number of professional kidnappings - up by 500 per cent since last year. According to a police report, the drug debts are sold to gangs which specialise in kidnapping in an attempt to recoup their money. "Such kidnaps are extremely violent with the hostage being starved, tied up, threatened, beaten and even murdered."