LONDON, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- Children as young as 11 have been recruited by criminal gangs in London to help support illegal drug networks across the country, a report by London Mayor Sadiq Khan revealed Thursday.
Khan has lifted the lid on the true scale of the impact of so-called county lines activity, with new figures revealing there are more than 4,000 young people involved in lines operating out of London and across 41 counties across Britain.
Khan's report said London is the highest exporting area for so-called County Lines, a term for criminal gangs that prey on young people to help supply drugs across the country using mobile phone networks, with 15 percent of all activity originating from the capital and driving gang-related violence and the criminal exploitation of vulnerable young people.
Khan invested 3.75 million U.S. dollars in 2018 in a three-year Rescue and Response program to better understand, target and respond to County Lines crime networks.
City Hall in London said in its first year, 568 young people were referred to the program, with children as young as 11 identified to have been coerced by criminal gangs.
Young people being supported by the program are linked to lines spread across 41 counties, with the 'top five' being Norfolk, Hampshire, Essex, Sussex and Thames Valley.
Khan's report said evidence shows it takes time to engage with a young person suffering criminal exploitation for a number of reasons, including fear of reprisal with criminal gang pressure often the biggest challenge to overcome.
"Gangs target vulnerabilities in a young person's life, including poverty, family breakdown, exclusion from school, drug addiction and learning difficulties," said the report, adding that frontline services find the control of gangs and debt bondage one of the hardest cycles to break.
Criminal networks groom young people and vulnerable adults, often through the offer of money or drugs, and are approached in schools, youth clubs and food outlets, and promised a fake lifestyle that promises benefitting financially from County Lines exploitation.
Khan, said: "County Lines operate across the country, exploiting vulnerable young people and driving gang-related violence. Now, for the first time, through the Rescue and Response program funded by City Hall, we are beginning to see the devastating scale of the impact with thousands of young people involved in lines reaching all corners of the country.
"We are supporting young people where we can, but we know we're only scratching the surface of a major national issue that is driving violence in London and across the country."
