Child victims of UK cannabis farms face ‘harsh penalties’

Trafficked to the UK by drug gangs, children as young as 14 are being coerced into working as ‘human sprinkler systems’ to water and tend plants in UK cannabis farms.

The news came to light earlier this month when drug information charity DrugScope highlighted the plight of Vietnamese children and young people caught up in illegal cannabis cultivation in this country.

“When a cannabis farm is raided, these victims of modern slavery can face harsh penalties in the courts, despite their trafficked status,” said a spokesperson for the charity.

In March this year, DrugScope’s Druglink magazine revealed that on average, UK police were raiding three cannabis farms a day.

“In just two years, 1,500 cannabis farms were shut down in London alone,” added the spokesperson. “Analysis of nationwide police raids revealed that around two thirds to three quarters of UK cannabis farms were run by Vietnamese criminal gangs.”

The charity said the conditions inside the cannabis farms are cramped and dangerous, with inhabitants at risk of “injury or death due to fire or electrocution”.

“Police have found children living in cupboards and lofts to maximise space for plants in houses powered by electricity running from makeshift connections to mains supplies,” said the spokesperson.

According to the London Fire Brigade, 50 cannabis farms were detected in the city last year because of house fires caused by faulty lights or re-wiring.

Following the Druglink investigation, DrugScope has been working with End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and the Trafficking of children (ECPAT) UK, and the Refugee Council to find out more on the fate of these children and young people once a cannabis farm has been detected.

Highlighting concerns over the treatment of these children and young people and the response of UK authorities, the charities said: “When police raid a cannabis farm, often the only arrests made are among those present at the time of the raid, usually those tending the plants.

“Upon arrest, some Vietnamese children and young people have been classed not only as illegal immigrants but charged with drugs offences. Court cases have seen young people facing charges relating to cannabis cultivation, which can carry a maximum sentence of 14 years.”

In June, the Home Office published a report into child trafficking, which identified Vietnamese young people as a vulnerable group who had been “particularly exploited in cannabis production”.

The report details several cases where Vietnamese children have been jailed for cannabis cultivation, and called on the police and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to avoid prosecuting trafficked cannabis farmers.

The head of the CPS, Director of Public Prosecutions Sir Ken Macdonald, told the All Party Parliamentary Group on Trafficking in July that he would be warning prosecutors to take into account the back story of children found working in cannabis factories.

Last month, ECPAT UK hosted a roundtable event to discuss the issue, attended by representatives of DrugScope, the Refugee Council, the Vietnamese community, the CPS and senior police officers.

“Some have considered large scale cannabis cultivation as an almost victimless crime but the reality is that vulnerable young people are being exploited,” said Martin Barnes, chief executive of DrugScope.

“Unfortunately they find themselves victims twice over – both at the hands of the criminal gangs who brought them to this country, forcing them to work in dangerous conditions to fuel the illegal drug trade – and again when they find themselves treated as criminals by the UK authorities.

“DrugScope urges the Home Office to issue formal guidance as soon as possible to the UK courts.”