Drug gangs are taking over hundreds, possibly thousands, of homes across the United Kingdom every week to store and deal drugs, police chiefs have warned. The practice, known as cuckooing, disproportionately targets vulnerable people including the elderly and the disabled.
Figures shared exclusively with BBC News show 1,539 incidents of cuckooing were reported to police in London between May 2025 and April 2026. Of those victims, 1,275 were male. Because cuckooing is not yet a specific criminal offence, national data remains limited and the true scale is difficult to measure.
The National Police Chiefs' Council said victims have been subjected to severe abuse inside their own homes. Kirsten Dent of the NPCC told the BBC: "We've had cases where they've been forced to eat dog excrement or perform sexual acts, and those will be recorded and then used as a form of blackmail for the perpetrator to say 'if you don't do as I say, then ultimately we'll share this with friends and we'll put this on social media.'" She added: "It's hidden and in people's homes, it's not always easy to detect."
The term cuckooing comes from the behavior of cuckoo birds, which take over other birds' nests to lay their own eggs. Gangs that practice it typically befriend vulnerable individuals before moving into their homes without consent and using the space to sell drugs.
One victim, Jamie, 34, has brain damage after being struck over the head with a glass bottle and struggles to move and speak properly. Two years ago, a criminal gang befriended him and then moved into his flat, using it as a base to sell drugs. "People went from being really nice and sound to me, to just taking whatever they can," he told the BBC. "They robbed my clothes," he added. "They started taking everything worth taking at my house, like stealing it without you knowing. And when I did realise it was them, they would deny it."
Jamie said one of the most demeaning experiences was being struck by a teenager much younger than him. He said he felt powerless to respond because of his condition. "I [have] got brain damage and one decent punch could do a lot of damage. I can't fight, I can't argue," he said.
Cuckooing is expected to become a specific criminal offence by the end of the year, carrying a maximum five-year prison sentence. It forms part of the Crime and Policing Act 2026, but the government has not yet issued statutory guidance to police forces, meaning the law cannot yet be enforced.
The BBC accompanied London's Metropolitan Police as officers visited suspected cuckooing properties and witnessed what the outlet described as shocking signs of squalor. Victims interviewed by the BBC said they felt like prisoners in their own homes and feared going to police because of the risk of violent reprisals from the gangs occupying their homes.
