Missing Luke Durbin 'had a debt to county lines dealers'

Luke Durbin smoked cannabis with friends and had switched to dealing drugs by his mid teens

A man who went missing almost 14 years ago was a drug dealer caught up in county lines, a detective has said.

Luke Durbin was 19 when he disappeared on a night out with friends in Ipswich, Suffolk, in May 2006.

Police revealed his drug dealing in a Channel 5 documentary that suggests he may have come to harm for owing money.

Retired Det Ch Insp John Brocklebank, who worked on the case, said: "Having a debt within a network we would now call county lines has consequences."

The documentary, part of the Missing or Murdered series, also reveals Mr Durbin had drug-dealing connections in Brixton, south London.

'Nothing to lose'

His mother Nicki, who has campaigned to find her son since his disappearance, told BBC Radio Suffolk she was "very apprehensive" about the information being made public.

"I did think long and hard before agreeing to do it, but we are so far down the line now we have nothing to lose," she said.

"The main goal is to bring Luke home, whatever that means, and to have some answers as to what happened to him."

Nicki Durbin said she hoped the honesty of everyone in the documentary would help the investigation

The documentary retraces Mr Durbin's final hours on 11 May, when he finished work at a greengrocers in Aldeburgh. Police say he then went on to do a drug deal in Woodbridge before meeting up with friends.

They drank in pubs, took cocaine and then went clubbing in Ipswich, detectives said.

He left the nightclub alone and tried and failed to get a taxi home because he had left his phones, keys and wallet at his friend's house in case he lost them.

He was last captured on CCTV at 04:00 BST in Dogs Head Street, heading towards the bus station.

The documentary also features his mother and sister viewing a "very sad" portrait of him (right) at a London exhibition

Mr Brocklebank said he believed a Volvo caught on a nearby CCTV camera 10 minutes later was connected to the "drugs fraternity" and possibly to Mr Durbin's disappearance.

Two people were arrested on suspicion of murder in 2012 and released without charge, and in 2014 a bone found in Ufford was revealed to be not from Mr Durbin but from a deer.

Ms Durbin said she hoped the honesty of those taking part in the documentary could "trigger something" and someone may come forward.

"We don't know if Luke's disappearance had anything to do with [drugs], until someone comes forward or we find Luke's remains, we have nothing to go on.

"It's devastating."

Suffolk Police has been approached for comment.

Missing or Murdered: The Disappearance of Luke Durbin airs on Channel 5 at 22:00 BST.