Introduction

This chapter walks readers through the first few days of drug sales in A-Town, emphasizing the tools, techniques and tactics our interviewees used to ship, store and sell drugs in the area. We discover that some drug dealers enthusiastically embrace the always-on culture of modern drug dealing and the use of smartphones and social media to reach customers, while others find delivery dealing a chore, and they only do it to keep up with consumer demands and customer preferences. The chapter also explores the dynamics of debt collection and conflict management in B- Town, and precisely why violence can be bad for business. These findings help flesh out the standard story of county lines by illuminating some of the dark corners of the practice and the strategic decision making that is usually shrouded in secrecy.

Opening day

Grease was nervous. He had not sold drugs before, at least not like this. He was now calling the shots and responsible for the wellbeing of others. The contract was two ounces of white, which would be sold ‘pure’, or uncut, at £100 a gram to help boost the group’s reputation for quality, and as much cannabis as Grease felt he could shift. The reason for the limit on cocaine was that back in Glasgow, the gang were buying it at wholesale ‘on tick’ from several different suppliers, and they had to repay on time or face reputational risks – or, worse, violent repercussions. Cannabis was different because the gang were growing it themselves – they controlled the entire supply chain. Shipments would arrive in A-Town monthly. After two months, assuming everything was going well, the weight of cocaine would increase to half a kilo.

Bob was worried about leaving Grease in charge of so much cocaine given Grease’s history of overindulging on the stuff whenever he was unsupervised. At the same time, Grease was worried about adhering to his “contract” with Bob. He did not like contracts because contracts meant “no fuck-ups” and eventually money would need to flow down the line back to where the drugs came from.