Report claims child slaves are smuggled through Prestwick Airport
18.06.07
Prestwick Airport has been named in a report as a key gateway into the UK for child sex traffickers. It is the latest scandal to hit the airport, which was also implicated in the CIA 'terror flights' saga.
A Home Office investigation has said that Chinese and Nigerian child smuggling gangs have been foiled by higher security at Heathrow and Gatwick airports. So they have switched their operation to Prestwick, along with Belfast and Humberside, as key airports for the trade a report by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Agency (CEOP) claims.
Their investigation found 330 youngsters from 44 countries - one as young as 9 months - had been smuggled into the UK since last April. The majority of the children were aged between 12 and 17, with only 14 aged 12 or under. Most were brought in to work in the sex trade, while others were used as slave labour in drugs factories. China (70) and Nigeria (38) providing the highest proportion of victims.
A spokeswoman for the CEOP said last night: 'Although the case studies numbered 330, we suspect that is under-representing the problem. We were able to identify the different transit points for children being trafficked into the country. Prestwick Airport was identified through this information.'
Andrew Girvan, director of children's services for NCH Scotland, said: 'Reports that traffickers appear to be turning to smaller airports such as Prestwick are very disturbing.'
Mark Rodwell, Prestwick Airport Chief Executive, said: 'We are not aware of any of these activities taking place here. We would fully cooperate with any investigation that may be launched.'
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