A 14 year old teenager and his cell phone allowed the UK Police to capture the leaders of a gang that was engaged in drug trafficking and human trafficking.
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The story goes back two years, according to the BBC’s account of it. In February 2021, the police discovered the minor using his cell phone to sell drugs. However, the authorities did not arrest the boy, but instead decided to track down his bosses.
The police gave the name of Wesley Hankin, a 20-year-old man who would be the teenager’s employer and who, curiously, was hundreds of kilometers from him in prison in Dorset, England, United Kingdom.
Following the orders of the drug traffickers and always using the TJ Line, a cell phone to contact consumersthe boy traveled all over England for several weeks.
The teenager, according to the BBC story, went to Liverpool to pick up another cell phone, a Nokia 105 that did not have access to applications, with an outdated operating system, but, yes, lots of battery, enough to send text messages. This fact was the main reason to continue the investigations against a child trafficking gang.
However, the boy was arrested by North Wales Police after being caught with heroin and cocaine. He was sent to the Portland jail.
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The undercover agents who tracked the boy’s movements, his contacts, discovered that he was controlled and exploited by adults. They decided to treat him as a victim to hunt down those who manipulated him: “Possibly, he was running more risks than he himself believed. So, in my opinion, he was a victim, not a bully.” said Simon Williams, North Wales Police Commissioner.
Williams added that “once we had the first indications of the kind of things we were seeing on the phone and the level of exploitation, it became apparent that we were dealing with a vulnerable young child.”
Gangster life
Wesley Hankin, the man who was in jail in Dorset, contacted the teen and learned that he was in the Portland jail. He contacted the boy from a number that was provided to him in prison.
The boy escaped from prison and went to Wigan, where he took refuge in the so-called “trap houses” where drugs are stored.
The minor assumed the lifestyle of a gangster. Many of the videos seized on his cell phone show him waving a knife or handling bills. They also found text messages from Vicky Bannister, a member of the band, sending him text messages where she claimed that he was not with the clients.
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After serving time in Wigan, the boy was transferred to Liverpool, then to Bedford, then to North Wales, ending up in Rhyl, but they were unaware that the police were following their steps closely; in fact, an undercover agent posed as a client.
In the Cob nature reserve, the teenager was caught again carrying drugs, but the police insist on how to treat him: “it was more important to protect him as a victim and go after those who benefited from crime. We consider it child abuse.”
The evidence accumulated and seven members of the band fell who admitted their guilt, even Wesley Hankin admitted his guilt, but was not accused. The reason? The evidence was not conclusive that he directed a child, in fact, he accused the teenager of working with the “federals.”
However, Hankin was finally sentenced to 10 years and 2 months in prison, but also a 15-year restraining order for “risk of slavery and trafficking”, so the boy was removed from the underworld and now must prepare to live a new life.
“You will need continued protection. I would sit here and say that he is now fully resolved in terms of his vulnerabilities… I would like to think that, deep down, he supports the measures we have taken,” Williams told the BBC.
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