Trafficking on the rise in the UK

The number of people being trafficked into the UK is rising, the Government warned today.

A report published on human trafficking found that 946 potential victims of trafficking were referred to the authorities.

712 were adults and 234 were children. This compares with 710 referrals in 2010, of which 524 were adults and 186 were minors. The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop) estimates there are approximately 300 child trafficking victims in the UK per annum.

The report said that organised criminal gangs within countries including China, Nigeria, Vietnam, Slovakia and Romania now pose the greatest threat to the UK, where they exploit their victims for sex, labour and domestic slavery.