6: Gangs
"Well, I must say that you two look very smart," Flora Johnson said as George and Rex stepped into her office. "I'm not sure I've ever seen your hair looking so neat and tidy, George."
"We heard a rumour that the staff are hot on handing out laps for uniform violations at the moment," George admitted, heading for a chair opposite Flora's desk.
"Take a seat on the sofa, lads, I think it's a bit less formal," Flora said, pointing to a tiny two-seater sofa squeezed into the room behind the door. "I know it's a bit small, but I hate having to look over the desk all the time."
George and Rex managed to get seated comfortably on the sofa, while Flora wheeled an office chair over to the opposite side of the room to sit on. She handed out the mission briefings, which were thicker than George was used to and he weighed it in his hand. Flora balanced hers on her knee as she looked at it.
"Chunky," George said, making Rex laugh.
"Rex, I don't think we've properly met," Flora said, reaching over to shake Rex's hand. "I'm Flora. I worked with George on a mission last year."
Rex nodded. "Pleased to meet you," he said politely.
His posh voice made George laugh. "Pleased to meet you," he repeated, laying on an extra thick toff accent.
Rex jabbed George with his elbow, hitting right on one of his ribs and making George gasp.
"That's enough of that," Flora warned. "I want you to take this briefing seriously, or I'll offer the mission to someone else."
That was enough to make George and Rex sit up straighter and start concentrating.
"As usual, I'll let the two of you have a read of the first part of the briefing, up until the pink sticky marker," Flora said. "Then we'll have a discussion before going any further."
"Sounds good," George said, leaning back and getting comfortable on the sofa and cracking into the briefing.
**CLASSIFIED**
MISSION BRIEFING FOR GEORGE KNIGHT & REX REYNOLDS
THIS DOCUMENT IS PROTECTED WITH A RADIO
FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION TAG.
ANY ATTEMPT TO REMOVE IT FROM THE MISSION
PREPARATION BUILDING WILL SET OFF AN ALARM.
DO NOT PHOTOCOPY OR MAKE NOTES.
Organised Crime in the UK
Over half of all organised crime in the UK involves the drug trade, which is estimated to be worth several billions of pounds each year and significantly enriches those involved in selling, but leads to addiction, debt and often further criminal activity by those affected. It has been estimated that for every ten percent reduction in drug offences, there is a corresponding fifteen percent reduction in other offences, including theft, robbery and violent crime. This makes organised crime a major target for police operations and attracts many of the UK's best officers, as well as a significant amount of budget. Many of the gangs involved are close-knit, accepting only members from a similar background or, in some cases, who other members have known for their whole lives. This makes police infiltration of these gangs particularly difficult, and retribution against any undercover officers who are discovered is frequently brutal and murderous.
CHERUB's Role
Criminal drug gangs often use children to do their dirty work for two reasons. Firstly, any children found engaging in drug dealing activity are likely to receive lighter punishment than adults, and often return to the gang for more work even after being punished. Secondly, children are less likely to be suspected, and there is no chance of a child being an undercover informant. This kind of exploitation of children is widespread, which gives CHERUB a unique ability to infiltrate these gangs. Cherubs are more likely to be able to join the groups, can gather evidence effectively, and are often able to surprise gang leaders and win loyalty and respect with their resourcefulness in difficult situations. There have been countless examples of CHERUB missions over the past fifty years employing this method with great success.
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough (including all the major settlements in Teesside) is the seventeenth-largest city in the UK. The city boomed in the nineteenth century based on its industries of iron and steel manufacture; coal production; and shipbuilding. These industries have declined dramatically in the second half of the twentieth century, and whilst new sectors, such as higher education (Teesside University) and several digital sector businesses have grown in the city, there are several areas of decline. The city suffers from one of the UK's highest crime rates, particularly for violent crimes and drug offences. Several gangs have been identified by North Yorkshire police, a largely rural force which struggles to attract the resources of a larger force, such as West Yorkshire or the Metropolitan Police, and as a result, national resources have been found to assist them.
Drug Misuse & Importation
There has been a recent increase in drug misuse in the UK, and particularly in Middlesbrough, after several years of decreases. The government and health authorities are anxious to reduce this, and a key factor is reducing the availability of illegal drugs. Whilst cannabis (marijuana; weed) can be grown cheaply and easily in the UK, the principal Class A drugs of cocaine (coke) must be imported; ecstasy (MDMA; molly) must be manufactured or imported. This means that locations with easy access to importation facilities, usually ports or airports, often see especially high associated drug crime. In Middlesbrough's case, it has both a busy port and a small, lightly-used airport, which combine to make it an easy location for gangs to import drugs.
Gangs in Middlesbrough
North Yorkshire police have identified three principal criminal gangs which are known to be involved in the importation of illegal drugs. Often, these gangs do not actually sell the drugs to the end user; they simply import them wholesale, package them for sale and then sell to drug dealers, who take the risk of being caught by police whilst the larger importers rarely see any police attention. Two of these gangs are already subject to ongoing long-term police investigations dating back decades, and their activity has been heavily reduced as a result. The third is relatively new, currently known by the street name of 'Solidarity', was formed by Eastern European gangsters and as a result, difficult for the police to infiltrate. Rather than attempting to investigate the gang directly, which can be dangerous and expensive, the police have decided to focus on putting pressure on the drug dealers who buy from the gang, hoping to glean information and evidence which will enable them to eventually crack open the gang itself.
Ali Ahmad
Ali Ahmad, sixteen years old, lives with his mother in a former council house in Ayresome. His father's whereabouts are unknown. Ali's criminal record began with a string of small-scale shoplifting incidents when he was eleven, mostly stealing food or low-value items from shops in the Ayresome area of the city. This progressed to more sophisticated methods, including breaking and entering and attempted burglary, often for alcohol or cigarettes, and after receiving police cautions, he was eventually prosecuted for attempting to shoplift £300 worth of alcohol when he was thirteen and received a suspended sentence. Since then, whilst he has not been formally identified by the police as being involved in any further crimes, it's thought he changed his focus to drug dealing, a far more difficult crime to investigate, and he is a suspect in several violent crimes. Routine social services visits to his home have shown he has accumulated significant unexplained wealth, and his attendance at school is variable. Now in Year 11, it is thought he will shortly leave education and the police are keen to make a connection with him before this time.
The Port Boys
The 'Port Boys' are one of the drug dealing gangs known to be buying from 'Solidarity' and reselling the drugs on the streets to end users. Port Boys came to the attention of the police after they were called to a domestic violence incident at Ali's home in 2012. Large quantities of Class A drugs were discovered, packaged and ready for sale, but it couldn't be proved that they belonged to Ali or anyone else and the investigation was dropped. However, using forensic information, police found the drugs to be similar to those sold by the Port Boys. It's now believed that Ali is the leader of the group, which seems to be formed of his childhood friends and a few other hangers-on.
Other Members
Whilst it is difficult to state whether someone is truly a member of a gang, the police have several other persons of interest who they believe are members of the gang or at least associates of Ali's. Two of these, Michael Smith (also sixteen years old, known as 'Mikey') and Hasif Bashir (16), are school friends of Ali's and are believed to be his most loyal friends, both of whom have criminal records for low-level thefts and are suspects in violent crimes. Ali has also been seen with two brothers, Paul (15) and Kevin (13) Gorka, and two girls, Jemma Lowes (17) and Sophia Ruba (15). All of these people have detailed profiles, including school and police records, in the appendices attached to this briefing.
CHERUB Mission
It is thought that the trio of Ali, Michael and Hasif are too close-knit to be infiltrated. In particular, Ali and Hasif are socially isolated and would find unexpected approaches suspicious. However, Paul and Kevin Gorka currently live in Albert Park, a halfway house close to Ali's home. It is thought that two Cherubs of a similar age, and with appropriate backgrounds, to Paul and Kevin stand a good chance of befriending them and using them as a way to attempt to join the Port Boys.
Aims of the Mission
To join the Port Boys gang and gain the trust of the members.
To gather evidence of criminal activity by the gang.
To gather evidence of the source of illegal drugs, particularly where this relates to the 'Solidarity' gang.
THE ETHICS COMMITTEE ACCEPTED THIS MISSION ON A 6-2 VOTE BUT REQUEST THAT AGENTS CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING:
This mission has been classified as HIGH RISK. To give a plausible backstory of being children in care, agents will not be operating under the close supervision of a Mission Controller.
It is extremely likely that agents will be exposed to drugs, including Class A drugs, and they are reminded that any agents knowingly taking Class A drugs will be expelled from CHERUB.
The gang has been known to use violent methods and deadly weapons. Agents are reminded that violent situations can be extremely volatile and dangerous and can pose significant risks to the agent.
George was the last to finish reading, but he exchanged a big grin with Rex.
"Sounds mental," he concluded. "I'm definitely in."
"Me too," Rex said quickly.
Flora didn't look impressed. "I know that some of you Cherub lads have a taste for a punch up, but this isn't a game."
George nodded, wiping the smile off his face. "I know, miss, we've done the training. We're both professional."
Flora glanced at Rex, who nodded to show he agreed, and she took a deep breath.
"Well, just between the three of us, I wanted a couple of agents who wouldn't be afraid to get stuck in if it does get a bit hairy. This Ali seems like a serious thug and I wanted an older agent on this mission too, but there's no plausible way to integrate them into the gang. Just as I had got approval from the ethics committee, you two decided to have a tussle up in Scotland and the mission almost got binned."
George did his best to look ashamed. "I'm sorry," he said.
"Sorry, miss," Rex added. "I really want a chance to do a good job on a mission."
Flora nodded. "Just so long as you take this seriously. I expect that bringing down this lot might lead to the chance of a black shirt, too."
Fourteen-year-old black shirts weren't unheard-of, but the idea of being senior to their mates was seriously tantalising to the two boys.
"I thought you might like that," Flora said, satisfied. "Now, you can choose not to go on the mission at any time, of course, but if you're happy, we'll get stuck into the rest of the briefing."
