Criminal Exploitation

Criminal exploitation involves taking advantage of vulnerable people, often the very young, the impoverished or the infirm. Forcing them to engage in various forms of criminal activity such as begging, pick-pocketing, credit card, benefit fraud and, as we’ll see in this short film, the cultivation of cannabis for drug dealers.

Cannabis cultivation is one of the most prevalent forms of criminal exploitation in the UK, and certainly one of the most alarming. This is because over 80% of those involved in the illegal growth of cannabis crops are believed to be children, the vast majority of whom have been trafficked across our borders from South East Asia.

Whatever the current street value of cannabis, the tragic reality is that it will often have come at a much higher price than you ever realised…