Gangsters who force children to hide drugs in their bodies face 10-year sentence
Gang members who force children to conceal drugs in their bodies will face up to 10 years in jail under a new offence.
Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, is to create an offence of 'coerced internal concealment' to protect children who are exploited by gangs to carry drugs, money and SIM cards in their bodies in an attempt to hide them from police.
The offence will be created through an amendment to Labour's Crime and Policing Bill to cut down on the practice, which is widely used by county lines and other gangs to transport drugs.
The Home Office said the concealment method relied on gang members forcing or deceiving children and vulnerable adults into ingesting or hiding items inside bodily cavities.
It warned that this was an 'extremely dangerous' practice because people could die if the drug packages broke open inside the body. It could also cause significant physical and psychological harm to those forced to do it.
A Home Office spokesman said: 'Where senior gang figures are found to have coerced other individuals to ingest or carry specified items inside their bodies, they will face up to 10 years behind bars.'
'Truly evil'
Jess Phillips, the safeguarding minister, said: 'There is something truly evil about the gang leaders who degrade young girls, young boys and vulnerable adults in this way, forcing them to put their lives at risk.
'This new offence will go alongside other measures in our landmark Crime and Policing Bill to turn the tables on the gang leaders and hold them to account for exploiting children and vulnerable adults.
'As part of our Plan for Change, this Government will give police and prosecutors the powers they need to dismantle these drug gangs entirely and secure convictions that reflect the severity of these crimes.'
£42m to tackle county lines
The Government has invested £42 million into a specific programme to tackle county lines gangs, which operate by transporting drugs often via train 'lines' from major cities or urban areas and selling them in other parts of the country.
Since July last year, 1,200 county lines have been shut down and 2,000 people arrested, including more than 800 violent offenders controlling the drug operations.
There were also more than 2,100 safeguarding referrals for children and vulnerable people.
The Government's county lines programme provides specialist support for children and young people to escape the drugs trade.
More than 320 children and young people have received dedicated specialist support since July last year. This can include one-to-one casework for young people and their families to help prevent exploitation or support their safe exit.
The offence may be committed against victims of all ages. It will criminalise any case where a child is intentionally caused to internally conceal, and where an adult is coerced, compelled, controlled, manipulated or deceived into internally concealing a specified item for any criminal purpose.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
25 minutes ago
- The Sun
Common prescription drug prevents heart attack and stroke WITHOUT deadly risk, scientists discover
A COMMON prescription drug has been linked to lower rates of heart attack and stroke - with no increased risk of major bleeding, say scientists. Low-dose aspirin is recommended by the NHS to prevent heart attacks and strokes in people who are at high risk of them. 1 Because aspirin helps to stop your blood from clotting, it can sometimes make you bleed more easily. For example, you may get nosebleeds and bruise more easily, and if you cut yourself, the bleeding may take longer than normal to stop. Now, a study published by The BMJ supports the use of P2Y12 therapy instead of aspirin for long term prevention. Giving the anti-clotting drug to patients with coronary artery disease was associated with lower rates of cardiovascular death, heart attack and stroke compared with traditional aspirin, with no increased risk of major bleeding. P2Y12 inhibitors are usually given to patients alongside aspirin after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) - a procedure to widen or unblock a coronary artery to help prevent cardiovascular events. After several months, patients are usually switched from dual therapy (both drugs) to lifelong aspirin, but some trials have suggested a P2Y12 inhibitor may be more effective for long term prevention than aspirin. So in the new study, researchers analysed individual patient data from five randomised clinical trials involving 16,117 patients who were assigned to either a P2Y12 inhibitor or aspirin after completing dual therapy. When they were followed up four years later, P2Y12 inhibitor therapy was associated with a 23 per cent lower risk of an outcome that combined cardiovascular death, heart attack, or stroke, compared with aspirin - with no significance different in major bleeding. When considering outcomes individually, P2Y12 inhibitor therapy reduced heart attacks and stroke compared with aspirin. The researchers said: "Overall, this study supports preferential P2Y12 inhibitor monotherapy prescription over aspirin due to reductions in major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events without increasing major bleeding in the medium term." Women vs. Men Heart Attack Symptoms But, they note "medium term efficacy does not necessarily extend lifelong, which is the duration we advise patients to continue these medications". To prevent heart attacks and strokes in patients with coronary artery disease, it's crucial to make lifestyle changes like quitting smoking, exercising regularly, maintaining a healthy weight, and following a balanced diet. Smoking significantly increases the risk of heart disease and stroke, so quitting is recommended. People should aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise per week and choose a diet low in saturated and trans fats, high in fibre, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and low in salt. If you drink alcohol, you should do so in moderation. And practice relaxation techniques, like deep breathing or yoga, and find healthy ways to copy with stress. Seeing your doctor regularly for screenings and to monitor your heart health. And making sure you get enough sleep (seven to nine hours per night) is important. Various symptoms and warning signs can indicate heart disease, and being aware of them can help in early detection and treatment...
The Sun
26 minutes ago
- The Sun
Family of murdered Lyons kingpin Ross Monaghan say notorious rivals DIDN'T order executions
THE grief-stricken family of murdered Lyons gang kingpin Ross Monaghan last night sensationally said their Daniel clan enemies are not to blame. We can reveal the bitter Glasgow rivals have put their own conflict on hold amid suspicions a foreign crew ordered the Costa del Sol pub hit on hoods Monaghan, 43, and Eddie Lyons Jnr, 46. 3 3 3 The relative said: 'The one thing people need to know is the Daniels are not behind this. "There are other theories about who is behind it, but the one thing we know for sure is it's got nothing to do with the Daniels or Mark Richardson.' The relative also insisted that despite leading lives of crime, both victims were much-loved family men. Tragically, Eddie Lyons Jnr's death came just weeks after his teenage daughter passed away from illness. The relative added: 'Ross obviously did what he did and the family accept that, but people have been saying some very horrible things. 'They have to remember Ross was a father and a son. Eddie had only just buried his daughter and so you can imagine this has hit everyone extremely hard — none more so than his brother Steven Lyons who is extremely upset.' The Lyons and Daniels have been at war for decades, with both sides involved in sickening violence. We told yesterday how the under-siege Daniels are said to have set aside £500,000 to deal with potential revenge attacks amid fears they would be wrongly blamed for the killings. A source said: 'Neither side can take the moral high ground but for once there is genuine shock at what's happened in Spain on both sides. 'The last thing the Lyons and the Daniels need is more bloodshed, so it's easy to see why they want to make it clear that these murders are the work of another crime gang operating outside Scotland.' Spanish cops are continuing to hunt the gunman who struck in Fuengirola on Saturday. Police Scotland has also ruled out claims the assassinations were plotted by warring mobsters here.
The Independent
33 minutes ago
- The Independent
Free school meals for half a million of England's poorest children
An extra half a million children will benefit from a free meal every school day after the government announced a major expansion of the policy, which they said would lift 100,000 pupils out of poverty and put an extra £500 in parents' pockets. From the start of the 2026 school year, every child whose household is on universal credit will be entitled to free school meals, the government announced on Thursday. Since 2018, children have only been eligible for free school meals if their household income is less than £7,400 per year, meaning hundreds of thousands of children living in poverty have been unable to access them. As of January last year, nearly 2.1 million children in England were eligible for free school meals. The Department for Education claimed that the expansion will lift 100,000 children across England out of poverty. It comes two years after The Independent 's Feed the Future campaign, in which we called for free school meals to be extended to all schoolchildren in England – both primary and secondary – who lived in households on universal credit but missed out on free school meals. The latest move will be seen as a major concession to Labour MPs who are concerned about the direction of the government, with rebellion brewing over the party's upcoming welfare cuts and calls for Sir Keir Starmer to scrap the two-child benefit cap. The chancellor Rachel Reeves also announced on Wednesday that more people will get fuel payments 'this winter' as she pledged to raise the level of the means test. Announcing the expansion of free school meals, education secretary Bridget Phillipson said 'background shouldn't mean destiny', adding: 'Today's historic step will help us to deliver excellence everywhere, for every child and give more young people the chance to get on in life.' She continued: 'It is the moral mission of this government to tackle the stain of child poverty, and today this government takes a giant step towards ending it with targeted support that puts money back in parents' pockets.' The move was welcomed by campaigners and unions, with the Child Poverty Action Group saying it will be a 'game-changer for children and families'. Kate Anstey, head of education policy the campaign group, said: 'At last more kids will get the food they need to learn and thrive and millions of parents struggling to make ends meet will get a bit of breathing space. 'We hope this is a sign of what's to come in autumn's child poverty strategy, with the government taking more action to meet its manifesto commitment to reduce child poverty in the UK." Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said the expansion of free school meals eligibility was a 'necessary and overdue first step' that would help address child hunger in schools. He said the current threshold, which had been unchanged since 2018, meant 'hundreds of thousands of children in poverty were missing out on the nutrition they need to thrive'. Mr Kebede added: 'As teachers, our members know the positive impact of children eating and learning together – how it breaks down stigma and inequality, and ensures greater community cohesion. Ensuring that a free school meal is available to all children is the next urgent step that must be taken.' Meanwhile, Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, welcomed the move to expand free school meals to all families on universal credit, saying 'no child should ever have to go hungry due to their parents' financial circumstances'. But he also called for auto-enrolment and wider support to tackle the broader impact of poverty on children's education. Children's commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza echoed his call, urging the government to make sure every eligible child is 'automatically enrolled for free school meals, rather than putting the onus on parents to sign up'. 'When children talk to me about their family lives, I am struck by how acutely aware they are of their parents' worries and of the impact these have on their daily lives - and their education', she said. 'That's why we need solutions that reflect children's experiences, reduce the shame too many have told me they feel about their circumstances, and break the link between their backgrounds and their opportunities, by giving them communities that are safe, supportive and aspirational.' Last week, The Independent revealed that demand for help from baby banks from parents struggling to feed their children has surged by more than one-third in a year, amid record -high levels of child poverty. New data showed that more than 3.5 million essential items were handed out in 2024, including nappies, clothes and cots – an increase of 143 per cent on the previous year. The announcement came just hours after Sir Keir sidestepped questions over the two-child benefit cap, amid growing calls for him to lift the limit. Critics of the policy say removing it would be the most effective way of tackling child poverty amid warnings that as many as 100 children are pulled into poverty every day by the limit. However, it is thought the cap will not be lifted until the government publishes its child poverty strategy, which has now been delayed until the autumn. Grilled on the policy at Prime Minister's Questions, Sir Keir said he is 'absolutely determined' to 'drive down' child poverty but declined to give further details ahead of the publication of the government's strategy.
