0:00:10 > 0:00:12The London criminal gangs targeting the South East.
0:00:12 > 0:00:13Police!
0:00:13 > 0:00:19They say a fella just bombed up the alley,
0:00:19 > 0:00:22but I went up there and I don't see anyone, mate.
0:00:22 > 0:00:23The campaign to protect the Goodwin Sands.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26Wrecks are being covered and uncovered all the time.
0:00:26 > 0:00:28It is just disrespectful. If it was one of their relations,
0:00:28 > 0:00:33they would probably feel the same way we do.
0:00:33 > 0:00:35And fake fags on Facebook.
0:00:35 > 0:00:37Well, the drop is on.
0:00:37 > 0:00:41We have had a message on Facebook telling us to turn up at a leisure
0:00:41 > 0:00:48park just outside Tunbridge Wells.
0:00:48 > 0:00:50I am Natalie Graham, with untold stories closer to home,
0:00:50 > 0:01:00from all round the South East. This is Inside Out.
0:01:06 > 0:01:09Hello and welcome to the programme, which this week comes from
0:01:09 > 0:01:12Tunbridge Wells.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15The National Crime Agency say there is a growing problem
0:01:15 > 0:01:18of criminal gangs from London turning their attention to nearby
0:01:18 > 0:01:21counties like Kent and East Sussex, finding new markets for their drugs.
0:01:21 > 0:01:31Rachel Royce reports.
0:01:35 > 0:01:40For Kent Police, tackling gang crime has become a priorty.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45Today, they have been called to a burglary they think
0:01:45 > 0:01:53might be gang related.
0:01:53 > 0:01:55They say a fella just bombed up the alley,
0:01:55 > 0:01:59but I went up there and I don't see anyone, mate.
0:01:59 > 0:02:03There has been so much gang activity in recent years that Kent Police set
0:02:03 > 0:02:05up Operation Jupiter - a specialist team dedicated
0:02:05 > 0:02:07to tackling London gang members who think there are easy pickings
0:02:07 > 0:02:09to be had in kent.
0:02:09 > 0:02:11A couple of days later, there is an Operation Jupiter briefing
0:02:11 > 0:02:15at Medway Police Station.
0:02:15 > 0:02:17We have been invited to Medway Police Station this morning.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20Officers have intelligence about a gang that is operating
0:02:20 > 0:02:21out of London and Kent.
0:02:21 > 0:02:23The plan this morning is three simultaneous raids at two addresses
0:02:23 > 0:02:25in London and one in Chatham.
0:02:25 > 0:02:27The aim is to disrupt London gangs targeting our community
0:02:27 > 0:02:29and setting up county lines.
0:02:29 > 0:02:31The police are calling it county lines crime,
0:02:31 > 0:02:38when London gang members set up a supply line to bring drugs
0:02:38 > 0:02:40out to the counties.
0:02:40 > 0:02:42Drugs have always been taken from large city hubs out
0:02:42 > 0:02:44to county market places, but county lines
0:02:44 > 0:02:47has really evolved though in the last four or five years,
0:02:47 > 0:02:49using runners on behalf of urban street gangs, exploiting young
0:02:49 > 0:02:50and vulnerable people to move drugs
0:02:50 > 0:02:54and money between the market places and, most important, in terms
0:02:54 > 0:02:57of what is different, using a mobile phone
0:02:57 > 0:03:00as a branded marketing line and really high levels of quite
0:03:00 > 0:03:06extreme violence and exploitation of young and vulnerable people.
0:03:08 > 0:03:10Today, Kent Police are going after the root
0:03:10 > 0:03:13of the problem, to the heart of London.
0:03:13 > 0:03:15Operation Jupiter is taking place with the help of intelligence
0:03:15 > 0:03:18from the Met Police.
0:03:18 > 0:03:20The gangs mainly sell crack cocaine and heroin
0:03:20 > 0:03:23and with that comes violence.
0:03:23 > 0:03:30What we do see over months are scenarios where firearms
0:03:30 > 0:03:32are threatened or discharged, knives are wielded, people are stabbed,
0:03:32 > 0:03:38young people are being kidnapped and held against their will.
0:03:38 > 0:03:40That is the sort of thing that happened to Fiona,
0:03:40 > 0:03:43not her real name, when she was just 15.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46She told us she was busking on the street in Tunbridge wells
0:03:46 > 0:03:49when she was approached by a stranger.
0:03:49 > 0:03:51I remember it like it was yesterday meeting the bloke
0:03:52 > 0:03:57who did what he did to me.
0:03:57 > 0:04:04I was sitting busking outside M in town.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07After inviting her to his flat he would not let her leave,
0:04:07 > 0:04:08holding against her will.
0:04:08 > 0:04:10He injected her with heroin several times a day.
0:04:10 > 0:04:19She became addicted and went on to sell drugs for a county line.
0:04:19 > 0:04:20And who were your customers?
0:04:20 > 0:04:22Who were you selling to in Tunbridge Wells?
0:04:22 > 0:04:26Oh, everyone, just literally. Next to Chaybeate Spring,
0:04:26 > 0:04:30In Kent, a high-speed chase by road police officers who have have been
0:04:30 > 0:04:36seconded to Operation Jupiter for the day.
0:04:36 > 0:04:38Their mission to stop and search suspected drug dealers
0:04:38 > 0:04:42coming out from London.
0:04:42 > 0:04:45They have their burn phones that they do all their dealing from.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48That will be those just chucked in the glove compartment, just
0:04:48 > 0:04:54there.
0:04:54 > 0:04:56Kent Police say there are 350 gang members working
0:04:56 > 0:04:58in North Kent right now.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00But how do the gang members in London set up the contacts
0:05:01 > 0:05:02for selling drugs in Kent?
0:05:02 > 0:05:04Professor Erin Sanders McDonagh of Kent University has interviewed
0:05:04 > 0:05:07over 100 young offenders and London gang members.
0:05:07 > 0:05:17Most of them were involved in county lines,
0:05:17 > 0:05:21So they might make over a house that is being squatted or they might
0:05:21 > 0:05:22move in with someone who is taking drugs,
0:05:23 > 0:05:24then take over that house.
0:05:24 > 0:05:26That person might stay in the house or be removed
0:05:26 > 0:05:28from the house, at some point.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30Essentially once they are in, they take over that house
0:05:30 > 0:05:31and start to run the line.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34Taking over someone else s home to sell drugs is known
0:05:34 > 0:05:35by the police as "cuckooing".
0:05:35 > 0:05:38It happened here in Rusthall, on the outskirts of Tunbridge Wells,
0:05:38 > 0:05:42in this boarded-up ground floor flat.
0:05:42 > 0:05:43Behind us, we have got property
0:05:43 > 0:05:45which was subject to cuckooing.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48It was a London gang member that came down here.
0:05:48 > 0:05:50They were a juvenile and they were taking over
0:05:50 > 0:05:52the property and using it to distribute drugs to the
0:05:52 > 0:05:57local community.
0:05:57 > 0:05:58He was extremely violent
0:05:58 > 0:06:00and tried to use a Samurai word against the officers.
0:06:00 > 0:06:07Fiona was also the victim of cuckooing.
0:06:07 > 0:06:10And they said, if you don t go, then we are going to kill
0:06:10 > 0:06:14you or seriously damage you, so we moved in the middle of the night.
0:06:14 > 0:06:18Packed up what we could carry and did a runner.
0:06:18 > 0:06:23Back with Operation Jupiter, the raid has begun.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26Hello, it s the police. Can you open the door, please?
0:06:29 > 0:06:35We have got a search warrant.
0:06:35 > 0:06:36That raid was not successful,
0:06:36 > 0:06:39in that they did not find the man they were looking to arrest.
0:06:39 > 0:06:43Just his mother, who was very angry and said he did not live there,
0:06:43 > 0:06:46but he had, at one time, put that down as an address where he lived.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49But why are the London gangs leaving their home turf, to come
0:06:49 > 0:06:50to Kent and Sussex?
0:06:50 > 0:06:52London was starting to become saturated for me.
0:06:52 > 0:06:57What has happened is that young gang members hav
0:06:57 > 0:06:59What has happened is that young gang members have
0:06:59 > 0:07:01been entrepreneurial, in a criminal way,
0:07:01 > 0:07:03and decided to take what they were doing in London
0:07:03 > 0:07:04into a less densely-populated marketplace.
0:07:04 > 0:07:05Who are these London gangs?
0:07:05 > 0:07:07In London itself, there are many dozens.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09Well over 100 urban street gangs.
0:07:09 > 0:07:19They tend to be young, black men, very often teenagers into twenties.
0:07:21 > 0:07:22Francis Osei-Appiah is a former member of
0:07:22 > 0:07:25a notorious Tottenham gang.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28He believes the main reason the London gangs are now coming out
0:07:28 > 0:07:33to our region is they think they can avoid arrest.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36The gang member thinks the police force don t know them,
0:07:36 > 0:07:39so they can go under the radar and can tap into that market,
0:07:39 > 0:07:44use their young people and start delivering drugs,
0:07:44 > 0:07:46whereas in London, the Met Police are hot
0:07:46 > 0:07:51on their heels and know what they up to.
0:07:51 > 0:07:53Francis was jailed for nine years for his part in the kidnapping
0:07:53 > 0:07:56and torture of two men.
0:07:56 > 0:08:00I asked him how he got involved in the gang in the first place.
0:08:00 > 0:08:03I was groomed with gifts and money and trainers and designer clothing
0:08:03 > 0:08:05jewellery, until I became succeptible to the gang
0:08:05 > 0:08:12and I joined it.
0:08:12 > 0:08:15Frances had just finished his GCSEs when he was recruited.
0:08:15 > 0:08:17The National Crime Agency reports that there is
0:08:17 > 0:08:23widespread exploitation of children, who are enticed into gangs.
0:08:23 > 0:08:26When we published our report in 2016, we cited the youngest age
0:08:26 > 0:08:33for exploitation that we had encountered,
0:08:33 > 0:08:35and that was cited twice by the police.
0:08:35 > 0:08:36It wwas 12.
0:08:40 > 0:08:42It was 12.
0:08:42 > 0:08:44In Tunbridge Wells, the common has been the site
0:08:44 > 0:08:47of arrests for drug dealing by London gang members.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50We have had a few arrests here linked to the gang activity.
0:08:50 > 0:08:52The youngest gang member arrested in Tunbridge Wells so far was
0:08:52 > 0:08:53just 15.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55He was the one with the Samurai sword.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58Chief inspector Dave Pate says gangs now use a particularly
0:08:58 > 0:08:59vicious method of controlling their younger members.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02We have initiations, where they are stabbed in parts
0:09:02 > 0:09:04of their body, to remind them they must do, what they are
0:09:04 > 0:09:07told to do for the larger, or the hierarchy, of the gangs.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10And you have arrested some young people in Tunbridge Wells who had
0:09:10 > 0:09:11these stab wounds?
0:09:11 > 0:09:12Yes, we have.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15For Fiona and her partner, there was violence when the London
0:09:15 > 0:09:18drug dealer came for his money and they did not have it.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21I opened the door and he pushed me to the side and I hit my had
0:09:21 > 0:09:24on the wall and he said "Where is he?"
0:09:24 > 0:09:27They ran up the stairs and I heard a massive crash and a bang,
0:09:27 > 0:09:30then they ran out of front door very, very fast.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33I ran up the stairs and my partner was there and he had
0:09:33 > 0:09:34a hole in his head.
0:09:34 > 0:09:38And it was a hole in his head that turned out to have been caused
0:09:38 > 0:09:41by him being hit on the head with a ball and chain,
0:09:41 > 0:09:42like, medieval style.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51Back with Operation Jupiter, Kent Police are in Chatham.
0:09:51 > 0:09:53They are dealing with suspects they believe are involved
0:09:53 > 0:09:57in selling drugs from London.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00Police, stay where you are.
0:10:02 > 0:10:05The same thing is happening in Belgravia ? a stone's throw
0:10:05 > 0:10:06from Buckinham Palace.
0:10:06 > 0:10:09Police!
0:10:15 > 0:10:16Open the door.
0:10:16 > 0:10:18While Kent Police are taking part in operations
0:10:18 > 0:10:20like this, they are also warning schoolchildren to stay
0:10:20 > 0:10:24away from the gangs.
0:10:24 > 0:10:26Francis receives some police funding to share his experiences.
0:10:26 > 0:10:28Stay away from drug dealers and gangs.
0:10:28 > 0:10:30You never get what is promised, you live in fear
0:10:30 > 0:10:33and the journey or path where you are going to will end
0:10:33 > 0:10:38with death or prison.
0:10:38 > 0:10:41I asked Fiona what happened to her partner, who was attacked
0:10:41 > 0:10:42with the ball and chain.
0:10:42 > 0:10:44He died with some sort of brain illness.
0:10:44 > 0:10:46Quite soon afterwards?
0:10:46 > 0:10:49A couple of years after.
0:10:49 > 0:10:51So you think possible this London drug dealer actually
0:10:51 > 0:10:52killed your partner?
0:10:52 > 0:10:53I do.
0:10:53 > 0:10:56I firmly believe that.
0:10:56 > 0:10:58The London gangs might believe it is easier to carry
0:10:58 > 0:11:01out their business outside the capital, but today, Kent
0:11:01 > 0:11:11Police are hoping Operation Jupiter will stop their country lines.
0:11:13 > 0:11:15Rachel Royce reporting. Coming up on Inside Out.
0:11:15 > 0:11:25The sale of counterfeit tobacco on Facebook.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28The number of reports coming in about the availability of illicit
0:11:28 > 0:11:30tobacco on social media has increased and the intelligence
0:11:30 > 0:11:34is probably just the tip of the iceberg.
0:11:34 > 0:11:37Out in the English Channel, is a series of sandbanks
0:11:37 > 0:11:38called the Goodwin Sands.
0:11:38 > 0:11:40They have been a hazard to shipping for centuries,
0:11:40 > 0:11:43but some people want them protected.
0:11:43 > 0:11:48Yvette Austin explains why.
0:11:54 > 0:11:561940 and the Battle of Britain is raging in the skies
0:11:56 > 0:12:01above the English Channel.
0:12:01 > 0:12:06Flying Officer John-Kerr Wilson is at the controls of a Spitfire.
0:12:06 > 0:12:09He is hit by enemy fire and his plane joins others from both
0:12:09 > 0:12:17sides in the war that have ditched into the notorious Goodwin Sands.
0:12:21 > 0:12:26Today is an emotional one for John Kerr-Wilson s nephew.
0:12:26 > 0:12:30He is heading out to the sands for the first time,
0:12:30 > 0:12:35to pay his respects to the uncle everyone called Jack.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38On a clear sunny day, at low tide, the Goodwins can be seen
0:12:38 > 0:12:41shimmering in the distance.
0:12:41 > 0:12:42Created by the tides, around five miles out
0:12:42 > 0:12:46from where I am here in Deal, the sandbanks extend for some ten
0:12:46 > 0:12:48miles long and four miles wide.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51As the tide rises, they disappear, becoming a hidden hazard
0:12:51 > 0:12:57to ships and their crews.
0:13:00 > 0:13:01Below the surface, in the murky waters,
0:13:01 > 0:13:05the wreck of a ship, the Rooswijk.
0:13:05 > 0:13:08Built by the Dutch East India Company, she floundered
0:13:08 > 0:13:09and went down in stormy seas in January, 1740.
0:13:09 > 0:13:16All 300 lives on board were lost.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19Since the first documented wreck of 1298, it is thought there have
0:13:19 > 0:13:21been as many as 2,000 shipwrecks, roughly plotted here,
0:13:21 > 0:13:27on the Goodwins.
0:13:30 > 0:13:35Which is why there is so much resistance to a plan
0:13:35 > 0:13:39by Dover Harbour Board to dredge up to 2.5 million cubic metres
0:13:39 > 0:13:41of sand from the Goodwins, as part of its rejuvenation
0:13:41 > 0:13:46of the town s Western Docks.
0:13:48 > 0:13:52Campaigners say it would disturb the graves of countless air
0:13:52 > 0:13:54and seamen and maybe even damage historic wrecks that
0:13:55 > 0:14:01lay undiscovered.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04The sand would be used to fill in areas of the current
0:14:04 > 0:14:08Western Docks, to create more space to handle cargo.
0:14:08 > 0:14:10As the harbour board s own animations show,
0:14:10 > 0:14:12there will also be a transformed waterfront, with a new marina,
0:14:12 > 0:14:15which it hopes will attract a host of shops, bars,
0:14:15 > 0:14:18cafes and restaurants.
0:14:18 > 0:14:25And they say 99.7% of the Goodwins will remain untouched.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29On the journey to the sands, Richard Kerr Wilson
0:14:29 > 0:14:32remembers his uncle.
0:14:32 > 0:14:33At Cambridge, he went to Pembroke College
0:14:33 > 0:14:35and studied engineering.
0:14:35 > 0:14:40He was the eldest son and he was destined to take over
0:14:40 > 0:14:43the family engineering firm in Liverpool.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46But being able to fly a plane, he was commissioned into the air
0:14:46 > 0:14:48force when war broke out and he was killed
0:14:48 > 0:14:51in action, aged 32.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54They flew in formation, which was...
0:14:54 > 0:14:57Well, they didn t know the rules of the game,
0:14:57 > 0:15:00really, at that stage, because, of course, the Luftwaffe
0:15:00 > 0:15:02did not fly in formation and they attacked them
0:15:02 > 0:15:05and destroyed them.
0:15:05 > 0:15:08He is certainly recorded as coming down onto the Goodwins.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11There are differing opinions, though, as to how much is preserved
0:15:11 > 0:15:13in such a hostile environment.
0:15:13 > 0:15:15So, I have come to the Ramsgate Maritime Museum -
0:15:15 > 0:15:20an Aladdin s Cave of artefacts from seafaring history.
0:15:20 > 0:15:26And there is a room dedicated to the Goodwin Sands.
0:15:26 > 0:15:28The Elizabethans called the Goodwin Sands,
0:15:28 > 0:15:29The Ship Swallower .
0:15:29 > 0:15:31What happens is, basically, the sand gets washed away
0:15:31 > 0:15:37from the bow and the stern with tides and, then,
0:15:37 > 0:15:41she either breaks her back or it creates a trench,
0:15:41 > 0:15:45whereby the ship will sink into the trench and keep sinking.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47Is there an estimate to how many people over
0:15:47 > 0:15:48the centuries have died there?
0:15:48 > 0:15:58Impossible to say.
0:16:02 > 0:16:04Is there an estimate to how many people over
0:16:04 > 0:16:05the centuries have died there?
0:16:05 > 0:16:11Impossible to say.
0:16:11 > 0:16:13And salvaging from the Goodwins is a huge undertaking,
0:16:13 > 0:16:16as was proven back in 2013, when a German World War II Dornier
0:16:16 > 0:16:19bomber, believed to be the last intact example of its type
0:16:19 > 0:16:22in the world, was lifted from its resting place in the sand.
0:16:22 > 0:16:24It took three years to plan the operation.
0:16:24 > 0:16:25At the former RAF Station in Hawkinge, historian
0:16:25 > 0:16:28David Brocklehurst has been piecing together the jigsaw
0:16:28 > 0:16:29of the Battle of Britain.
0:16:29 > 0:16:31There are pieces here from 700 aircraft, along with other wartime
0:16:31 > 0:16:32relics and soldiers stories.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35David has also compiled a list of airmen and aircraft lost
0:16:35 > 0:16:36on the Goodwins in 1940 alone.
0:16:36 > 0:16:39There are 60 aircraft and over 70 airmen on the list.
0:16:39 > 0:16:48And they all, potentially, could be on the Goodwins ?
0:16:48 > 0:16:50And he has strong feelings about Dover Harbour Board s plan.
0:16:50 > 0:16:51It is just disrespectful.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54If it was one of their relations, they would probably feel
0:16:54 > 0:16:56the same way as we do but, unfortunately, these days,
0:16:56 > 0:16:59it seems to be that money counts.
0:16:59 > 0:17:01Because it is a moving bank, wrecks are being covered
0:17:01 > 0:17:03and uncovered all the time.
0:17:03 > 0:17:12Most of the surveying they keep quoting they are going to do
0:17:12 > 0:17:13the aircraft and vessels will be.
0:17:13 > 0:17:16And the only time they will be disturbed is, potentially,
0:17:16 > 0:17:17if they dredge that area.
0:17:20 > 0:17:25I feel quite emotional, because he was one of four brothers
0:17:25 > 0:17:28and I knew all my other uncles reasonably well, so this is
0:17:28 > 0:17:35the closest I have ever got to him.
0:17:35 > 0:17:43And he was probably guarding the evacuation from Dunkirk,
0:17:43 > 0:17:46which was going on at that time, so it is quite evocative
0:17:46 > 0:17:51coming out here.
0:17:51 > 0:17:53The thought of them dredging when there are so many
0:17:53 > 0:17:59lost here is appalling.
0:18:03 > 0:18:05So you ve got the South Goodwins, North Goodwins.
0:18:05 > 0:18:08That is the Marine Conservation Zone and that red, long, thin strip
0:18:08 > 0:18:09is the proposed dredging zone.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12Back near Deal, Joanna Thomson s dining room has become
0:18:12 > 0:18:16the headquarters of the battle against the dredging plan.
0:18:16 > 0:18:19A petition has gathered more than 13,000 signatures and her piles
0:18:19 > 0:18:25of campaign material are constantly growing.
0:18:25 > 0:18:27She is not opposed to the harbour board s development,
0:18:27 > 0:18:30but just where it wants to get the sand from.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33There is no concern about how the local community might feel
0:18:33 > 0:18:37about the Goodwins which have very close links with the coast here.
0:18:37 > 0:18:40Not once have they actually voiced any concern or sensitivity
0:18:40 > 0:18:44about it and, I think, probably underlying that might be
0:18:44 > 0:18:47one of the causes why people are just thinking,
0:18:47 > 0:18:54"Why should they? Dover Harbour Board says the Goodwins have been
0:18:54 > 0:18:56Dover Harbour Board says the Goodwins have been
0:18:56 > 0:18:58dredged before on numerous occasions for national infrastructure projects
0:18:58 > 0:19:01and they say, this time, it will help ensure the ongoing
0:19:01 > 0:19:03resilience of the cross- Channel supply route.
0:19:03 > 0:19:05The campaigners believe, though, it involves breaking historic promises.
0:19:05 > 0:19:07I have found clippings in the East Kent Mercury,
0:19:07 > 0:19:09on their microfiche archive, which says that, in 1976,
0:19:09 > 0:19:12it was agreed that they would have a licence for one project only
0:19:12 > 0:19:18and it would not precipitate the further taking of sand.
0:19:18 > 0:19:20Something else that is concerning the campaigners is how the dredging
0:19:20 > 0:19:25might affect wildlife that lives in and around the sands.
0:19:25 > 0:19:27The proposed dredge site falls within a recommended
0:19:27 > 0:19:29Marine Conservation Zone.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32There are 50 such zones around England s coast already designated.
0:19:32 > 0:19:37This one is pending government approval.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40Well, the proposal is to remove millions of tonnes of sand
0:19:40 > 0:19:43and all the life in it, so all of those wonderful creatures
0:19:43 > 0:19:45that live within the sand and support the fish,
0:19:45 > 0:19:49which support the birds and the seals, would be removed.
0:19:49 > 0:19:52And we just do not feel that is appropriate in an area
0:19:52 > 0:19:54which is meant to be protected.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57Dover Harbour Board has declined an interview, but in a statement,
0:19:57 > 0:19:59says the dredge is vital to deliver the sympathetic regeneration
0:19:59 > 0:20:04of Dover, awaited for more than 70 years.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07It is up to the Government s Marine Management Organisation to decide
0:20:07 > 0:20:11whether or not to grant the licence to dredge.
0:20:11 > 0:20:14Richard and others in the campaign believe it is down to one thing -
0:20:14 > 0:20:17whether economic gain is considered more important that letting those
0:20:17 > 0:20:21who gave their lives rest in peace.
0:20:21 > 0:20:24It is a great honour to be able to actually show some mark of thanks
0:20:24 > 0:20:30and gratitude for what they did.
0:20:41 > 0:20:44Yvette Austin reporting.
0:20:44 > 0:20:46Now, social media is a great way
0:20:46 > 0:20:48to communicate with friends, but it is also a new way
0:20:48 > 0:20:50for criminals to break the law.
0:20:50 > 0:20:56Glen Campbell reports.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59Facebook recently launched a new concept in local trading.
0:20:59 > 0:21:03It is called Marketplace and makes buying
0:21:03 > 0:21:10and selling goods on its webpage easier.
0:21:10 > 0:21:12But we have received a tip-off that there are more questionable
0:21:12 > 0:21:14goods being sold on the Marketplace platform.
0:21:14 > 0:21:17Goods that would normally be seen being knocked out the back
0:21:17 > 0:21:20of a white van - cut-price tobacco and cut-price cigarettes, delivered
0:21:20 > 0:21:27straight to your doorstep.
0:21:27 > 0:21:29I found that the tobacco was a lot coarser.
0:21:29 > 0:21:31It wasn t as fine as UK-bought tobacco.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34It went dry really quickly, so you couldn t really get a decent
0:21:34 > 0:21:40drag on the cigarette with it, at all.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43Even using filters, it still tasted quite coarse and quite harsh.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46Now, there s no smoke without fire, so we sent the cheap,
0:21:46 > 0:21:48harsh-tasting tobacco that our tip-off had bought off
0:21:48 > 0:21:53Facebook to be analysed.
0:21:53 > 0:21:57Forensic Scientist John Griffin agreed to run some tests for us.
0:21:58 > 0:22:03So, we did some analysis on heavy metal content.
0:22:03 > 0:22:07We picked on two particular-heavy metals, which are lead and cadmium,
0:22:07 > 0:22:09both of which can be uptaken by the plant,
0:22:09 > 0:22:12and we certainly found raised levels of both.
0:22:12 > 0:22:14How much more heavy metals in there than should be?
0:22:14 > 0:22:17In the case of lead, twice as much.
0:22:17 > 0:22:21With cadmium, it was about 30% higher.
0:22:21 > 0:22:23From my point of view, the levels in there are raised
0:22:23 > 0:22:26and are a potential safety issue.
0:22:26 > 0:22:29We are not good as human beings in getting rid of contaminants.
0:22:29 > 0:22:32So, the likelihood is you are going to be taking in more
0:22:32 > 0:22:34of those contaminant metals and they will remain
0:22:34 > 0:22:37in your system - in organs, in the brain, in other
0:22:37 > 0:22:40organs in the body - and you will not get rid of them.
0:22:40 > 0:22:44So, over a period of time, there is a bigger potential health risk.
0:22:44 > 0:22:46Now, in your view, is this counterfeit or is it real?
0:22:46 > 0:22:49What is your take on it?
0:22:49 > 0:22:52From our point of view, the tests did not seem to indicate
0:22:52 > 0:22:54that it was consistent with a genuine product
0:22:54 > 0:22:57so, potentially, counterfeit.
0:22:57 > 0:23:00But just how easy is it to get your hands on this
0:23:00 > 0:23:02questionable tobacco?
0:23:02 > 0:23:05To find out that, we went online and found the seller we had been
0:23:05 > 0:23:09tipped off about, touting his wares across the South East,
0:23:09 > 0:23:11despite the fact that selling tobacco on Facebook
0:23:11 > 0:23:14is against their rules.
0:23:14 > 0:23:19After a little instant messaging, I set up a deal.
0:23:19 > 0:23:21Well, the drop is on.
0:23:21 > 0:23:23We have had a message on Facebook telling us
0:23:23 > 0:23:27to turn up at a leisure park just outside Tunbridge Wells.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30I have got the cash in my wallet.
0:23:30 > 0:23:34Because the seller s price is so cheap, we smell a rat.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37Could the goods be stolen or possibly fake?
0:23:37 > 0:23:39They said they would meet us here at seven,
0:23:39 > 0:23:42so we have to wait around.
0:23:42 > 0:23:46I just wanted to find out how big a problem the scale of illicit
0:23:46 > 0:23:48tobacco on social media really is.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51So, I went to see Kate Pike at the Chartered Trading Standards
0:23:51 > 0:23:55Institute, who represent Trading Standards officers
0:23:55 > 0:24:00on the frontline in the fight against illicit tobacco.
0:24:00 > 0:24:03How much of a problem is this distribution of counterfeit
0:24:03 > 0:24:06cigarettes and tobacco using social media like Facebook?
0:24:06 > 0:24:09Over the last few years, the number of intelligence reports
0:24:09 > 0:24:11coming in around the availability of illicit tobacco on social
0:24:11 > 0:24:16media has increased.
0:24:16 > 0:24:20So now, it s probably around 20% of the reports coming in.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23That s a great concern, because you also don t know how much
0:24:23 > 0:24:24is actually being reported.
0:24:24 > 0:24:27The intelligence is probably the tip of the iceberg.
0:24:27 > 0:24:29What s the difficulty that the platform of social media
0:24:29 > 0:24:32presents to your members?
0:24:32 > 0:24:35It makes it harder to catch them, does it?
0:24:35 > 0:24:37Very much so and it makes it harder to investigate.
0:24:37 > 0:24:40With social media, it is really hard to undo where they actually
0:24:40 > 0:24:44are based, so we need to work across borders.
0:24:44 > 0:24:47We need to cooperate with each other.
0:24:47 > 0:24:51In fact, that is always an issue with trading standards.
0:24:51 > 0:24:54Criminals do not stop at local authority borders.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57And it is also difficult to find out who they are,
0:24:57 > 0:24:58because the criminals are selling tobacco
0:24:58 > 0:25:02using fake profiles, to avoid
0:25:02 > 0:25:11detection, which is why we have arranged to meet them face-to-face.
0:25:11 > 0:25:13Back at the drop-off point, the dealers have arrived
0:25:13 > 0:25:16and straight away, there is a bit of confusion.
0:25:16 > 0:25:19Oh, did you just bring the 200 Mayfair this time?
0:25:19 > 0:25:20Why, what else was there?
0:25:20 > 0:25:25I thought it was 200 Mayfair and five Amber Leaf.
0:25:25 > 0:25:29There has been a bit of a mix-up, in that he has gone back to the boot
0:25:29 > 0:25:31of the car, but he has definitely got
0:25:31 > 0:25:33the gear, so we should be on.
0:25:33 > 0:25:35He obviously had it hidden under his coat, so it is
0:25:36 > 0:25:37all a bit of a laugh, innit?
0:25:37 > 0:25:39When he comes back the confusion continues -
0:25:39 > 0:25:42this time over the price.
0:25:45 > 0:25:47Whilst he struggled with the maths, I tried
0:25:47 > 0:25:49to find out why it was so cheap.
0:25:49 > 0:25:50Can I have a quick look?
0:25:50 > 0:25:55Where do they come from?
0:25:55 > 0:25:59It s, like, Turkish.
0:25:59 > 0:26:00They are Turkish.
0:26:00 > 0:26:02Oh, OK.
0:26:02 > 0:26:04How much do I owe you?
0:26:04 > 0:26:0540 for those.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08As he went back to the car to fetch our change,
0:26:08 > 0:26:10we followed him back, to get a better look.
0:26:10 > 0:26:12Right, give me the fiver back.
0:26:12 > 0:26:14There is that and you keep the change
0:26:14 > 0:26:15and we re all happy.
0:26:15 > 0:26:16All right mate, cheers.
0:26:16 > 0:26:22Can I have a receipt?
0:26:22 > 0:26:27And just like that, deal done!
0:26:27 > 0:26:29While the lab tests for the the tobacco that our
0:26:29 > 0:26:31original source sent us have come back indicating potentially
0:26:31 > 0:26:34dangerous levels of heavy metals, what I need to find out
0:26:34 > 0:26:37is whether the tobacco and fags that we bought in the car park
0:26:37 > 0:26:38are real or not.
0:26:38 > 0:26:41And to do that, I have got to send them off
0:26:41 > 0:26:43to the original manufacturer, JTI, the company which make the products
0:26:43 > 0:26:49that our dealer claims to sell.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53It did not take long for the results to come back
0:26:53 > 0:26:55from the manufacturer's testing centre and, guess what,
0:26:55 > 0:26:57the cigarettes and tobacco we bought from our Facebook
0:26:57 > 0:27:01seller are counterfeit.
0:27:03 > 0:27:05So how are the sellers getting away with trading fake
0:27:05 > 0:27:09and, potentially-dangerous, tobacco on Facebook so openly?
0:27:09 > 0:27:10Across the country, Trading Standards
0:27:10 > 0:27:15have really suffered huge cuts.
0:27:15 > 0:27:18Approximately 40% of the officers we had a few
0:27:18 > 0:27:20years ago have now gone, so we are really struggling
0:27:20 > 0:27:23with being able to tackle the number of issues that are facing
0:27:23 > 0:27:24Trading Standards.
0:27:24 > 0:27:27JTI have also been keeping a close eye on this burgeoning
0:27:27 > 0:27:29illicit trade and they told us: Over the past year,
0:27:29 > 0:27:32JTI s actions have led to the removal of just under 3,000
0:27:32 > 0:27:42listings relating to the illegal sale of its brands on Facebook.
0:27:43 > 0:27:49These products have an estimated street value of over ?400,000.
0:27:49 > 0:27:51We contacted Facebook, who told us that when any prohibited activity
0:27:51 > 0:27:54is reported, they investigate and remove content found to be
0:27:54 > 0:27:55in breach of their commerce policy.
0:27:55 > 0:27:58They also told us that they have removed the post advertising
0:27:58 > 0:28:01the counterfeit cigarettes, for breaking their policy.
0:28:01 > 0:28:04However, an identical post from the same person has
0:28:04 > 0:28:07appeared on a different Facebook buy/sell group.
0:28:07 > 0:28:12So, while Trading Standards and Facebook struggle to keep up,
0:28:12 > 0:28:15the criminals keep raking in the cash.
0:28:15 > 0:28:16Keep the fiver.
0:28:16 > 0:28:23You take that and we are all happy.
0:28:28 > 0:28:31If you want to find out more about the programme,
0:28:31 > 0:28:34go to our live pages on the BBC South East website.
0:28:34 > 0:28:40And you can catch up on iPlayer.
0:28:40 > 0:28:43That is it from this series of Inside Out.
0:28:43 > 0:28:48We are back in the autumn. Bye for now.