County lines drug dealing is happening in Rutland and 'is much more hidden' a councillor has claimed. 

Speaking about a recent incident in Oakham in which the council task and finish group looking at social housing helped uncover a vulnerable resident whose housing association property had been taken over as a drugs base – a practice known as cuckooing – Cllr Ray Payne (Lib Dem) said the matter had been sorted, but there was undoubtedly similar incidents in the county. 

County lines drug dealing is where gangs in larger cities move their operations into smaller towns and rural areas, often using young people to deliver their illegal products. 

At a recent scrutiny meeting, Cllr Payne said: "I'll lay any money you like, it's [affecting] someone else, somewhere else in Oakham and it's going on right now. County lines is a fact here in Rutland, in Oakham and Uppingham. 

He continued: "There's a big difference between the drug problems, say in Leicester and the drug problems out here in the rural areas. It's actually in some ways easier to deal with by the police, because it's there on the streets and they can follow the people around. But in the countryside, it's much more hidden. No-one really knows too much about the numbers, it's incredibly difficult to collect them and they only come up on occasions like this, almost by accident." 

The issue had been brought up as an area for concern in a survey of residents. Cllr Stephen Lambert (Lib Dem) said the cuckooing incident in Oakham had been 'particularly grisly' and suggested that councillors were given training in how to respond when matters like this came to their attention. 

Chairperson Lucy Stephenson (Con) said that while crimes were lower in Rutland than in most other parts of the country, it was 'miserable for the people involved' who were hard to reach. 

The committee decided to ask the police and crime commissioner Rupert Matthews (Con) to give a briefing to the council on the issue.