Man sentenced in case involving youngest victim of child trafficking
A man has been sentenced to four and a half years in a young offender institution in a case of child trafficking involving a 14-year-old victim.
Harrison James Coe of Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham pleaded guilty to trafficking the 14-year-old to carry and sell drugs along county lines.
The victim is the youngest in any child trafficking seen in Wales.
County lines is the practise of organised crime groups from urban areas who use children and vulnerable adults as "runners" to carry and sell drugs - taking illegal substances across county boundaries.
Victims are used as a means of distancing the original suppliers from the crime and so minimising the risk of detection.
18-year-old Coe was arrested in March 2019 after officers pulled his car over on the outskirts of Llanelli, suspecting it had links to organised crime.
He was found in possession of a small amount of cannabis, before later passing a package of crack cocaine and heroin while in police custody. The street value of the drugs came to £1900.
The 14-year-old victim was found within 24 hours of Coe's arrest, and reunited with his family. He had been trafficked to sell drugs in the Llanelli area.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said Coe had admitted in interview that he collected the child on the instructions of another person and brought him to Llanelli via Cardiff.
Police said Coe is "one of a number of people" linked to the county lines network.
18-year-old Harrison Coe also plead guilty to six counts of supplying and possessing heroin, crack cocaine and cannabis.
Commenting on the sentencing, NSPCC Cymru said Coe had "ruthlessly exploited a vulnerable child".
Watch ITV's special report on county lines here.