23/09/2007 00:00:00
UK: Children trafficked from Asia to UK to work in cannabis factories
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Youngsters are being shipped across the world and held captive in towns
and suburbs up and down the country.
Hundreds of young children illegally trafficked into the UK are the new
victims of Britain's booming cannabis trade. Figures obtained by The
Independent on Sunday reveal that, as organised criminals push cannabis
production to record levels, at least one child a week is being found by
police raiding cannabis factories.
Experts warn that children as young as 13 are been smuggled from
south-east Asia to work as "slaves" for gangs in dangerous conditions,
being kept captive in towns and suburbs across the UK. They believe
there has been a five-fold increase in the trade in the past 12 months.
Police believe organised crime gangs, largely Vietnamese, have moved
quickly to dominate the UK cannabis market after declassification in
2004 increased the potential rewards of growing and selling the drug and
decreased the risks of punishment.
Gangs can reap up to £300,000 profit a year from a three-bedroom house
converted into a cannabis factory. Children are brought in by gangs to
tend the plants. Many have been found unable to escape through doors or
windows sealed and wired to give off dangerous electric shocks. Others
fear reprisals against relatives if they try to escape. Police are
currently raiding up to three houses a day where children are being
discovered.
"There is clear evidence that there are young people who are trafficked,
bought and sold, for the purpose of forced labour in cannabis production
in the UK," said Christine Beddoe, director of the campaign group End
Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and the Trafficking of Children
for Sexual Purposes (Ecpat).
"In the past 12 months there has been a 500 per cent increase in the
number of cases being reported to us. We now get told about one young
person every week being removed from a cannabis factory. But nobody
knows the true scale of the problem."
Simon Byrne, Assistant Chief Constable of Merseyside Police and cannabis
spokesman for the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo), said
colleagues call cannabis "the cash machine of organised crime".
He said: "For the police, crime reduction is based on a simple equation
in people's minds between risk and reward. If you remove the risk,
people exploit it. If you put the risk back into enforcement, they will
adapt and go into another type of business."
Experts say Vietnamese gangs were the quickest to exploit opportunities
in the cannabis market and have since become renowned for trafficking
children as cannabis slaves.
Peter Stanley, from the campaign group Stop the Traffic, said: "We can
almost talk about designer trafficking, where criminals traffic to
order, and there is evidence that particular south-east Asian villages
are targeted for specific trades, with Vietnam now known to specialise
in boys for cannabis factories."
Once here, children are forced to work as "gardeners", watering and
tending the plants, and have to sleep in lofts or cupboards. Neighbours
are often unaware of their existence. Even after they are discovered by
police, their ordeal isn't over.
Campaigners have called for better protection for trafficked children as
local authorities have been slow to appreciate the danger these young
people face from the criminals that exploit them.
Ms Beddoe said many Vietnamese children go missing from care within 48
hours of being removed from cannabis houses and no one knows what
happens to them. She said: "Local authorities are struggling to keep
these kids safe, and it doesn't help that agencies are not sharing
information."
Tuan Nguyen, a young Vietnamese boy, was discovered in Salford, Greater
Manchester, in June. After being placed in a local authority care home,
he is now missing and it is feared he has been snatched back by the gang
that brought him to the UK.
Paul Woltman, Salford's assistant director of children's services,
defended the council's conduct of the boy's care. He said: "We wanted to
look after him in an environment which was reasonably normal as well as
secure, but at the same time recognised his right to some freedom."
Experts are also critical of the justice system's treatment of these
children. While some are seen as victims and taken into care, many more
face prosecution and jail.
Martin Barnes, chief executive of the charity DrugScope, said: "Many of
these young people are victims twice over – at the hands of the criminal
gangs who brought them to this country, forcing them to work in cramped,
dangerous conditions, and again when they find themselves treated as
criminals by the UK authorities. The presumption should be against these
young people serving jail terms and instead given support and protection."
At Basildon Crown Court earlier this year, Judge Christopher Mitchell
took the view that two young Vietnamese men charged with cannabis
production were likely victims of trafficking and voiced particular
concerns about the plight of the 16-year-old defendant who had allegedly
been snatched from his family and brought to the UK.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) defended their actions in bringing
the case, saying they were not given any evidence suggesting the
youngsters were trafficking victims.
A CPS spokeswoman said: "Prosecutors have been told to be aware when
they are presented with cases of cannabis factories of the possibility
of human trafficking and to factor in this information when making
charging decisions."
Further reading: 'Rights Here, Rights Now' by Jana Sillen and Christine
Beddoe (Ecpat UK/Unicef UK, 2007)
Source:
http://www.ukcia.org/news/shownewsarticle.php?articleid=12861
Author:
Independent on Sunday via UKCIA
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