'Gangs recruited me as a drug mule at 13'

A teenager who was a drugs courier at the age of 13 has spoken out about being groomed and coerced by gangs, as the government looks to introduce a new law against child criminal exploitation.

Dylan, not his real name, is being supported by a specialist service that helps victims of child criminal exploitation (CCE) in Surrey.

The charity Catch22 said it had been providing one-to-one help with children as young as 10 for a number of years.

The government said it was determined to stop heartless criminal gangs from luring young people into a life of crime.

Dylan told BBC South East: "I was walking around with a big amount of drugs.

"I was inconspicuous, they weren't. They were guys that looked like drug dealers, they couldn't walk around with a brick of cocaine on them.

He explained that he would be given a "pouch".

"Sometimes I would be delivering to a house, sometimes I would be delivering to someone pulling up in a car," he said.

He described how gangs targeted young drug couriers.

"The easiest way to contact the young person is through others," he said.

"There's always going to be the younger brother or cousin and he gets approached and once he gets approached you get the whole friend group."

A new offence in the Crime and Policing Bill that is going through Parliament will make CCE illegal.

It is designed to target people who groom children into criminal activity, including county lines drug dealing or organised robbery.

The legislation will also see the introduction of CCE prevention orders, which will mean that courts can put restrictions on people who they believe pose a risk of exploiting a child for criminal purposes.

Breaking these orders will also be a criminal offence, carrying a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

County lines is the transportation of illegal drugs from one area to another, often across police and local authority boundaries, and usually carried out by children or vulnerable people who are coerced into it by gangs.

The "line" is the mobile phone line used to take the orders of drugs.

People exploited in this way will often be exposed to physical, mental and sexual abuse, and will sometimes be trafficked to areas a long way from home.

Estimates suggest that approximately 14,000 children were identified as at risk or involved in child criminal exploitation in 2022 to 2023, according to Home Office county lines data.

Dylan, who is now 17, has been referred to Catch22's Music to My Ears service, which has been running since 2016.

It has supported just over 800 young people over the last decade, helping them to explore music production, photography, film-making and writing.

They are working on a one-to-one basis with about 80 youngsters and the service is being highlighted to Surrey magistrates as an alternative intervention.

Dylan said the programme was helping him to focus on a brighter future, perhaps in music production.

"I like music, they've got good equipment. I feel like this kind of thing is good for a young person," he said.

Dylan said the programme could "help you get employment".

"It just gives you another option," he added. "You have to find another alternative."

The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner funds the programme and has committed almost £400,000 to the project over the last four years.

Ellie Vesey-Thompson, the Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey, told the BBC the project was helping those who are vulnerable.

"Some of them have been exploited, and used by county line drug dealers, some have previously gone missing in Surrey, some have been involved in serious violence too," she said.

"Those who've been groomed or exploited learn to know it's not their fault, that help is out there and there are adults who will support them to break free from criminality."

Katy Bumstead, service manager for Catch22 services in Surrey, said: "This can happen in any county, no matter if there are deprived areas or more affluent areas, young people can be exploited no matter where."

Tim, the Music to My Ears programme service coordinator, said the project engaged young people and tried to divert them from crime.

"We're not rewarding them for their behaviour," he said. "Our service is about trust and hope for the future.

"We look at their situation. Is there a health need, a housing need, an education need?

"We'll then use non-traditional engagement methods like music to work with young people.

"Then almost in the background we'll work on their care needs and the support they need to change and to see a better future that isn't selling drugs for example."

Anne Longfield, chief executive at the Centre for Young Lives and former children's commissioner, told the BBC the introduction of a CCE offence "cannot come soon enough".

"Over 100 times a day a child in England is assessed by social services as being exploited or in gangs, a number which is likely to be just the tip of the iceberg," she said.

"Some will never be referred to social services and will go under the radar entirely. We've been making it far too easy for criminals to exploit children for too long."

A Home Office spokesperson said: "This government has introduced a new offence and prevention orders to tackle child criminal exploitation in the Crime and Policing Bill, which will target adults who unscrupulously groom and exploit children into criminal activity.

"This should increase convictions against exploiters, deter gangs from enlisting children, and protect victims.

"Additionally, our Young Futures programme will provide positive support for young people in their communities to help draw them away from crime."

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