Drug trade drags rural children into modern slavery

CASES of children forced to sell drugs in rural areas has led to a tripling in the number of slavery victims in Britain, the National Crime Agency has said.

For the first time, UK nationals have made up the majority of the slavery cases reported, and this in part reflects a disturbing trend in which city-born children are being exploited in a drug distribution model known as “county lines”, where urban gangs branch out into county or coastal towns to sell heroin and crack cocaine.

In 2017, there were 5,145 potential victims flagged to the National Referral Mechanism – up 35 per cent from 2016 and almost triple the number reported in 2013.

While most cases related to the exploitation of labour, there were hundreds of reports of sexual exploitation, domestic servitude and even three cases of organ harvesting.

Of the 116 nationalities, the largest group was UK citizens. Will Kerr, the NCA director, said: “The increase we are seeing here is driven by an increased awareness and greater reporting of modern slavery. That is to be welcomed.

“However, it also adds further evidence to our view that the figures almost certainly underestimate the true scale of slavery and trafficking in the UK.

“We are seeing increasing crossovers between slavery and organised immigration crime outside of the UK. Often, the same criminal networks are involved in transportation, and migrants themselves are vulnerable to labour and sexual exploitation during their journeys and after.

“Particularly concerning to us is the rise in young people being exploited for sex or drug trafficking.”

The number of gangs using “county lines” drugs distribution has risen amid increasing turf wars and a crackdown by inner-city police, who can identify gang members. It works by forcing children and vulnerable people to act as couriers to move drugs and cash between a rural market and an urban hub.

A separate report published last week revealed that the number of modern slavery operations being carried out by police at any one time has tripled, from 188 in December 2015 to 568 last month.

Devon and Cornwall Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer, the national policing lead for modern slavery, said: “It means police are identifying more victims of modern slavery than ever before, ensuring they get the support they need and exploitation is stopped.”

When asked where modern slavery sits among policing priorities, Mr Sawyer said: “Stealing years from someone’s life, abusing them into believing they are sub-human, denying them employment opportunities, not enabling them to have healthcare, demeaning and destroying their education...it’s pretty high for me.”