Horrifying scale of Bradford’s organised crime exposed: Hundreds of children are being used to run dozens of gangs in Yorkshire city, police report finds
- Police identified 471 children working for 51 Bradford organised crime gangs
- It includes youngsters being forced to work on cannabis farms as well as steal
- Four-year £1million project is now being launched in order to tackle the scandal
Nearly 500 children have been enslaved by gangs in one city alone, a report has found.
Police identified 471 children who are working for 51 organised crime gangs in Bradford.
Many were recruited as drug couriers as part of the ‘county lines’ scandal, in which a network of inner city gangs uses troubled children to distribute drugs and weapons.
Many were recruited as drug couriers as part of the ‘county lines’ scandal, in which a network of inner city gangs uses troubled children to distribute drugs
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Inside squalid flat where ‘county lines’ drug dealers were…
‘Vile’ county lines drug gangs who use children to deal…
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Youngsters are being forced to work on cannabis farms as well as steal, the new report says
The shocking report, by Bradford Council and West Yorkshire Police, is one of the first to show the extent of the problem.
Mark Griffin, of Bradford Safeguarding Children Board, said: ‘Criminal exploitation of children is broader than just county lines, and includes, for instance, children forced to work on cannabis farms or to commit theft.’
A four-year £1million project is now being launched in Bradford to tackle the scandal. Last month, a Daily Mail investigation revealed that in six forces alone, 417 children were arrested in county lines police operations between 2014 and 2018.
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