Tower Hamlets top table for slavery victims referred in London
A total of 30 potential victims of modern slavery and trafficking in Tower Hamlets were referred to authorities last year – more than any other London local authority.
The National Crime Agency said UK nationals made up the highest number of cases for the first time nationwide, followed by Albanians and people from Vietnam.
NCA data show 252 potential victims in London were flagged to the National Referral Mechanism, 93 per cent of whom (235) were children.
The borough led Croydon (28 potential victims), Newham (24) and Lambeth (21) as the capital’s hotspot for cases.
Nationally, the number of minors reported to the NRM rose by two thirds from last year.
You may also want to watch:
The agency said the increase was due to “increased awareness” and growing drugs supply routes, or “county lines”.
Here, gangs based in cities use young people as couriers to move products to rural areas.
Most Read
- 1 Two in five people in Tower Hamlets may have had Covid-19
- 2 Teenager found dead in Victoria Park
- 3 Driver arrested after police 'drugs patrol' stops car in Whitechapel
- 4 'Laptop bonanza' for schoolchildren in Poplar to help survive lockdown gloom
- 5 Students in rent strike over Queen Mary's campus staying open during Covid emergency
- 6 Leyton Orient sign Dan Kemp on a permanent deal from West Ham United
- 7 Drug and alcohol abuse by Tower Hamlets parents and children soars
- 8 That's so raven: Everything you need to know about the guardians of the Tower
- 9 Post deliveries in east London hit by Covid crisis among Royal Mail staff
- 10 500 deaf children wait to see if their education needs will be cut by Tower Hamlets Council