Hundreds, if not thousands, of people’s homes are being taken over by criminals every week in the UK, usually to store and deal drugs, police chiefs have told the BBC. The so-called cuckooing – named after the bird that takes over others’ nests – often targets the vulnerable, including the elderly and disabled. In some cases drug users are exploited by gangs who move in and refuse to leave.
Figures shared exclusively with the BBC show 1,539 incidents of cuckooing were reported to police in London between May 2025 and April 2026. Of those, 1,275 victims were male. The National Police Chiefs’ Council said “horrific things” have happened to victims, who were often trapped in their own homes.
“Police warn hundreds of homes are taken over by gangs weekly, as victims like Jamie describe being prisoners in their own homes.”
“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’,” the NPCC’s Kirsten Dent told the BBC. “It’s hidden and in people’s homes, it’s not always easy to detect.”
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 before moving into his home without his consent and using his flat as somewhere to sell drugs. “People went from being really nice and sound to me, to just taking whatever they can,” he said. “They robbed my clothes. 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.” He said one of the most demeaning things was being slapped by a teenager much younger than him.
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 is yet to issue statutory guidance to police forces before the law can be enforced. The BBC accompanied London’s Metropolitan Police as officers visited suspected cuckooing properties and witnessed shocking signs of squalor. Victims said they felt like prisoners in their own homes and feared going to the police in case of violent reprisals.