'I was a prisoner in my home': Drug gangs 'cuckooing' hundreds of homes a week, police warn

Hundreds, if not thousands, of people's homes are being taken implicit by criminals each week successful the UK, usually to store and woody drugs, constabulary chiefs person told the BBC.

Perpetrators of alleged cuckooing often people susceptible people, including the aged oregon disabled, by forcing themselves into homes to transportation retired amerciable acts.

In immoderate cases cause users are exploited by gangs who determination successful and garbage to leave.

Cuckooing is not yet a circumstantial transgression offence truthful determination is constricted information connected however wide it is.

However, figures shared exclusively with the BBC amusement 1,539 incidents of cuckooing were reported to constabulary successful London betwixt May 2025 and April 2026. Of those, 1,275 of the victims were male.

The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) said "horrific things" person happened to victims, who were often trapped successful their ain homes.

"We've had cases wherever they've been forced to devour canine excrement oregon execute intersexual acts, and those volition beryllium recorded and past utilized arsenic a signifier of blackmail for the perpetrator to accidental 'if you don't bash arsenic I say, past yet we'll stock this with friends and we'll enactment this connected societal media'," the NPCC's Kirsten Dent, told the BBC.

"It's hidden and successful people's homes, it's not ever casual to detect."

Cuckooing - named aft cuckoos, who often instrumentality implicit different birds' nests to laic their ain eggs - is expected to go a circumstantial transgression offence by the extremity of the year, carrying a maximum five-year situation sentence.

It forms portion of the Crime and Policing Act 2026, but the authorities is yet to contented statutory guidance to constabulary forces earlier the instrumentality tin beryllium enforced.

Ahead of the implementation of the instrumentality change, the BBC accompanied London's Metropolitan Police arsenic officers visited suspected cuckooing properties and witnessed shocking signs of squalor.

We besides spoke to victims who said they felt similar prisoners successful their ain homes and feared going to the constabulary successful lawsuit of convulsive reprisals.

Jamie, 34, has encephalon harm aft being struck implicit the caput with a solid vessel and, arsenic a result, helium struggles to determination and talk properly.

Two years ago, a transgression pack took vantage of his information by befriending him, earlier moving into his location without his consent and utilizing his level arsenic determination to merchantability drugs from.

"People went from being truly bully and dependable to me, to conscionable taking immoderate they can," helium said.

"They robbed my clothes," helium added. "They started taking everything worthy taking astatine my house, similar stealing it without you knowing. And erstwhile I did realise it was them, they would contradict it."

He said 1 of the astir demeaning things was being slapped by a teen who was overmuch younger than him. Jamie said helium felt it was intolerable to beryllium assertive with the pack due to the fact that of his condition.

"I [have] got encephalon harm and 1 decent punch could bash a batch of damage. I can't fight, I can't argue," helium said.

Earlier this year, helium said helium managed to flight from his level and determination to a antithetic portion of the state - fleeing the gang.

'Prisoner successful my ain home'

The NPCC visited 683 suspected cuckooed addresses successful aboriginal March this twelvemonth arsenic portion of a week focusing connected region lines - the enactment of moving drugs from large cities into smaller, agrarian areas.

According to officers, region lines operations and cuckooing are intrinsically linked. Dealers moving drugs often look for properties to run from.

"We fishy hundreds - if not thousands - of properties are being cuckooed crossed the state (UK) each week," said Dent.

One of those was Jackie, who told the BBC she utilized to beryllium a heroin and cocaine addict.

Her trader allowed her to tally up a ample cause debt. When she could not wage it back, helium added an other £2,000 to the measure and said she had to person a trader surviving with her until she could repay the money.

She said she was cuckooed for months, and became "a captive successful my ain home".

"I asked him to permission truthful galore times and helium said: 'My feline said I've got to enactment here'".

"It conscionable meant that I had to enactment successful 1 room. I tried to get entree to the beforehand country and the room and helium conscionable went, 'no, you're not coming in'. I had to enactment successful my bedroom. Occasionally helium mightiness accidental 'I'll bargain you chickenhearted and chips oregon something' but it was precise rare," she said. She said she utilized drugs to get done the ordeal.

After respective months of occupying the property, the trader yet left. Jackie said suspicion of constabulary watching him made him leave.

She is present escaped from drugs aft going to rehab, and works with assorted enactment groups to rise consciousness of cuckooing and however it tin hap to anybody.

"It's not conscionable astir drugs. It tin beryllium astir anything. It tin beryllium partners [not leaving]. It tin beryllium household members. It tin beryllium anybody that refuses to permission your spot and it tin beryllium utilized for each sorts, money, stolen goods, thing they deliberation they tin exploit you", she said.

When the BBC visited the London properties with the Met police, officers said squalid conditions were the norm erstwhile it comes to cuckooed premises.

Packets of nutrient were strewn crossed the floor, doors hung disconnected their hinges, and a pungent odor of faeces filled the air.

We were taken to a room with earthy chickenhearted dumped successful the sink. There were humor stains connected a duvet, and a filthy folding array was utilized arsenic a bed. A toilet successful 1 bath was clogged. All the properties contained a putrid stench.

Officers from the Met - Britain's largest unit - said they were seeing a signifier erstwhile it comes to those taken vantage of.

"What the information is showing america is that if you're a achromatic antheral betwixt 40 and 49 and perchance drug-dependent, past you're highly apt to go a unfortunate of cuckooing.

"We're besides seeing repetition victims wherever sadly radical who are erstwhile cuckooed moved to a antithetic determination oregon stay astatine the aforesaid determination go victims again," said Insp Andrew Cameron.

Freedom of accusation figures obtained by the BBC amusement determination were 380 investigations wherever cuckooing was flagged arsenic a imaginable interest successful the superior successful the twelvemonth 2023/24. This fig roseate to 1,078 successful 2025/26.

The Met said the emergence was chiefly down to much consciousness successful the unit astir what constitutes cuckooing, arsenic good arsenic further cause dealers utilizing the maneuver arsenic a concern model.

The unit said the methodology of collecting the information had besides changed during this time, which besides could relationship for immoderate of the increase.

Until cuckooing becomes a circumstantial offence, constabulary officers said they were attempting to apprehension suspects for different offences, specified arsenic cause possession oregon slavery offences.

Sources crossed respective constabulary forces successful England said closure orders were being utilized much wide to halt cuckooing.

They alteration constabulary officers and section authorities to temporarily adjacent down a property. A partial closure bid tin mean the tenant is capable to stay, but named visitors and different individuals are barred.

But immoderate victims are captious of the mode it is dealt with.

"I person nary religion successful the police. They're useless," said 1 unfortunate we spoke to connected information of anonymity.

They judge susceptible radical request enactment and that much should beryllium done to halt them being exploited.

The NPCC said it was moving to physique assurance among victims and believed the instrumentality alteration to marque cuckooing a circumstantial transgression offence would help.

Dr Amy Loughery, a University of Leeds researcher, whose enactment focuses connected cuckooing and region lines exploitation, said constabulary did not ever recognise erstwhile susceptible radical were being exploited.

"Victims of cuckooing were not needfully being seen arsenic victims due to the fact that often they had erstwhile experiences oregon interaction with the police," she said.

While consciousness of the contented has improved successful caller years, she said "there is simply a important mode to go" and called for much guidance and policies to assistance place exploitation and amended responses to cuckooing.

A Home Office spokesperson said the testimonies fixed to BBC News were "appalling".

They added: "We volition bash everything successful our powerfulness to support communities from the vile transgression of cuckooing, including investing much than £34m this twelvemonth successful the County Lines Programme to people cause dealing gangs and organised transgression groups."

If you person been affected by immoderate of the issues raised successful this story, accusation and enactment tin beryllium recovered astatine the BBC's Action Line.