Criminals to face jail over forcing children to conceal drugs under new offence
Gang leaders who force vulnerable people to hide drugs and cash in their bodies could face up to 10 years in prison under a change in the law.
Ministers are seeking to create the new criminal offence to crack down on the action known as 'plugging' typically used by organised criminals to move goods from one place to another in county lines drug running.
Children and vulnerable adults are forced to ingest or conceal the items in their bodies, which can cause significant harm and can be fatal if drug packages break open inside them, leading to an overdose.
The move will be included as an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill currently going through Parliament.
Safeguarding minister Jess Phillips 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.'
It comes as the Government committed to investing £42 million into a programme to tackle county lines gangs and support victims of the drugs trade.
Since July 2024, more than 800 violent criminals involved in county lines have been charged through the programme's enforcement action and 1,200 drug lines have been closed, according to the Home Office.
More than 2,100 safeguarding referrals for children and vulnerable people have also been made, it added.
Jack O'Neill, of The Children's Society, said: 'Children forced to carry drugs in this way are subject to a form of abuse and exploitation that causes deep, long-lasting harm, and the law must reflect that.
'A clear legal definition of child criminal exploitation would help stop vulnerable children falling through the cracks and shift the focus onto the predators who profit from their abuse.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sky News
24 minutes ago
- Sky News
Plans to tackle mental health crisis 'not ambitious enough', charity boss tells Sky News
Government plans to strengthen mental health services are "not ambitious enough", a charity head has told Sky News. Dr Sarah Hughes, chief executive of mental health charity Mind, spoke to The UK Tonight with Sarah-Jane Mee after a report on mental health cases at A&E reaching crisis levels. Sky's health correspondent Ashish Joshi reported that waiting times for these cases have risen, and overnight beds in mental health units are down almost 3,700 in a decade. 8:26 Dr Hughes called the report "incredibly important insight into what's happening," before adding: "One of our wonderful campaigners waited 87 hours on a stretcher when she was incredibly distressed. "These are scenes are happening up and down the country, and I'm afraid to say that whilst I'm devastated to see them, I'm not surprised." She then said that while "there are all sorts of services" across the UK for mental health, they are "nowhere near the level that we need". "We are seeing thousands and thousands of people go into A&E every month for very serious mental health challenges, and this can be resolved quite easily by beefing up what's available in the community," Dr Hughes said. "By making sure that community mental health services are resourced so that people are caught far earlier, that we don't hit crisis, that they're able to get the support they need well before they get into trouble. "We know what works: We know that with proper investment that we could avoid this situation." The charity boss also said that while new initiatives from the government on services would be welcomed, "fundamentally, without mental health support, we're not enabling [people] to thrive". "In fact," she said, "we're putting them into incredibly vulnerable situations day in day out. They are carrying the risk here. "We know that mental health staff in A&Es are also really struggling. They want to do a good job, and they can't. They're not resourced to." Plans to tackle spike in cases 'not ambitious enough' New Freedom of Information data gathered by the Royal College of Nursing shows that over the last five years, waits of 12 hours or more for a mental health bed have increased by more than 380%. When asked about whether NHS and government plans will help tackle the sharp rise, Dr Hughes said: "We already know that they don't and they won't. "We are expecting a real-terms cut in terms of the funding around mental health going forward. We are not convinced or persuaded that we've got the share of spend that's right for mental health. "We're concerned that the plans for mental health are not ambitious enough. We're not really persuaded, I think, that the policies surrounding mental health either are going to help reform and so on. "All of these things that are going on demonstrate a lack of understanding." In response to Ashish Joshi's report, the Department for Health and Social Care told Sky News: "We know people with mental health issues are not always getting the support or care they deserve and incidents like this are unacceptable. "We are transforming mental health services - including investing £26m to support people in mental health crisis, hiring more staff, delivering more talking therapies, and getting waiting lists down through our Plan for Change."
The Sun
27 minutes ago
- The Sun
Cash-strapped Government trying to flog half-built warships amid claims it can't afford to finish them
THE Government is trying to flog half-built warships amid claims it can-not afford to finish them. Military top brass invited Norway to buy £1billion frigates HMS Belfast and Birmingham, which are midway through construction. 2 Selling them would give Defence Secretary John Healey and the Treasury breathing space to find the time to pay for them, a source said. But they added that the Navy would have to wait years to get its promised eight vessels if Norway jumped the queue. They said: "The Royal Navy only has eight frigates, the smallest number in its history. 'It desperately needs these new Type 26 frigates as soon as possible. 'But the MoD budget is under so much pressure that selling the half-built hulls to Norway would give the Treasury breathing space to find the time to pay for them.' It comes after the Strategic Defence Review warned the Navy needed a 'cheaper, simpler fleet'. The MoD said Norway was 'one of the UK's most important allies'. A Norwegian source said: 'The government of Norway is in the final phases of making a decision, but no date has been set.' Proud Scots workers watch latest Royal Navy frigate roll out at Babcock Rosyth shipyard 2
Daily Mail
28 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Trump demands interest rate cut as he blames Powell for shock US jobs slowdown
Donald Trump yesterday demanded a US interest rate cut as he blamed Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell for a shock jobs slowdown. The president lashed out at 'Too Late' Powell after payroll firm ADP reported that job creation in the world's biggest economy slowed last month to its lowest level in more than two years. The outburst came as evidence also pointed to a dismal jobs market in Britain. In America, ADP figures showed that private payrolls rose 37,000 in May, the smallest gain since March 2023. Markets had expected an increase of 110,000. More comprehensive official jobs data will be published tomorrow and will be closely watched for evidence that tariff uncertainty is hurting the economy. But Trump did not wait to go on the attack. On his Truth Social platform, he said: 'ADP number out.. 'Too Late' Powell must now lower the rate. He is unbelievable. Europe has lowered nine times.' The remarks are likely to reignite disquiet over Trump's attacks on the central bank's independence. He has previously rowed back on language suggesting he would fire Powell, after a market sell-off. Meanwhile, in the UK, a survey showed employment in the private sector fell for the eighth month in a row in May, the longest losing streak – aside from the pandemic – since 2008 to 2010 during the financial crisis. The slide was partly blamed on increased payroll costs, after national insurance and minimum wage hikes introduced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves took effect. But on a brighter note, the purchasing managers' index (PMI) figures suggested a return to growth for the private sector – thanks to a recovery for services, though manufacturing declined. Tim Moore, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said the sector 'regained its poise as receding concerns about US tariffs, recovering global financial markets and greater confidence among clients helped support growth'. It came amid growing hopes of a Bank of England interest rate cut, with markets last night betting on a greater than 50/50 chance of one in August, and another cut later this year seen as increasingly likely. Today, the European Central Bank is expected to cut its rate. It has already cut seven times since last June –not the nine claimed by Trump. Figures this week showed a fall in inflation in the euro area to 1.9 per cent last month – below the bank's 2 per cent target for the first time since September.
