The dangers youngsters face of being dragged into the county lines drug trade is the subject of a new show from Aberystwyth-based theatre company, Arad Goch.

The police have issued a warning about drug gangs operating from cities and reaching out to youngsters in rural areas Wales, and the threat that these gangs pose is the basis for a brand new production called Crossing the Line.

The new show has been devised to shine on gangs looking for people who are young enough – and innocent enough – to get away with transporting drugs across county lines and across the country.

Arad Goch will take this production on tour this term, visiting schools in Ceredigion, Powys and Carmarthenshire.

The title, Crossing the Line sums up the two main themes of the show - the actual crossing of county lines as drugs are moved across the country, and the deeper line that minors unknowingly cross when they get caught up in this world through actions they may never have realised were wrong. Even simply holding a friend’s bag can have consequences.

The production poses questions such as, where is the line, how can a minor know they are approaching it, and how do they know if they have already crossed it?

The show’s producer, Mared Llywelyn, said she knows of county lines drug gangs operating around her – whether it’s in Aberystwyth, where she works, or back home in the small and “quiet” Gwynedd village of Morfa Nefyn.

Mared wants the drama to stand as a reminder that anyone can get caught up in the “trap” of being pulled in to a dark world, and she wants the show to remind us that it isn’t just “bad children” who get involved with county lines drug trade – it can be anyone.

She told Maes that these gangs always want to recruit minors, because they never look like they could be involved with such illicit activities, and so they can slip through county lines without a second glance.

Whether these minors are sent over county lines on trains, or they are sent to drive across them and in to cities personally, they do not look anything other than a young teenager or child, too young and innocent to be involved in the drug trade.

The show looks at how these gangs pull minors in by appealing to what they enjoy. In this particular story, 15-year-old Tal, the main character, is pulled in to the world of county lines drug trade when he meets a girl online through his games console. Nat is a 19-year-old who, despite her clean and shiny criminal history (or lack of), actually works for these gangs. She is tasked with recruiting people like Tal through the games console’s online chat.

Tal feels he has a friend in Nat, and so when she asks him to hold what he thinks is nothing more than an innocuous bag, he has no problem in doing so. But little does he know he has just agreed to carry drugs, and is - unwittingly - making this his first step into the world of drug gangs.

Mared felt it was important to show how young people can slip in to these situations, from moments as small as these.

She received positive feedback for her previous show, Hudo, a play that she produced that explores the risk young people face of sexual exploitation when they use online gaming platforms.

The current tour of Crossing the Line got underway on Tuesday, 20 September, and features a slightly different cast to the show’s original production, and Mared is excited about the new production, telling Maes that each actor has the potential to bring something new to their role.

Mared also said rehearsals have left her feeling over the moon, finally seeing the whole show coming together, with the actors all suited up and performing on stage.