County lines drug dealing blamed for figures in annual report from UK’s anti-slavery commissioner
More children than adults were flagged as potential victims of slavery for the first time last year due to county lines drug dealing, according to the annual report from the independent anti-slavery commissioner.
The commissioner, Dame Sara Thornton, found that during a few months in 2020, there were more children than adults referred to what is known as the national referral mechanism (NRM) – a facility that allows their trafficking claims to be explored and where they can access support.