The gang members used young and vulnerable people from London to transport and sell drugs in Hampshire

Three gang members have been convicted of human trafficking offences after they used young and vulnerable children from London to transport and sell drugs in Hampshire in a landmark county lines case.

Glodi Wabelua, 25, Dean Alford, 25, and Michael Karemera, 25, recruited, groomed and trafficked six victims aged 14 to 19, who were ordered to travel from London to Portsmouth to restock drugs.

The eldest victim, identified as a vulnerable adult, told the crown court that when he tried to remove himself from the gang, he was stripped naked by associates of Karemera, had a gun placed in his mouth, and was threatened with his life if he did not comply.

All three were convicted of human trafficking offences under modern slavery legislation following a trial at Inner London crown court. Wabelua was found guilty by a jury, while Alford and Karemera both entered late guilty pleas.

The men were convicted of drugs supply offences, namely conspiracy to supply class A drugs (crack cocaine and heroin), in February 2016 at Woolwich crown court, but it took a further three years to bring the trafficking charges to court.

Police and officers in the National Crime Agency are turning to modern slavery legislation to combat the rise of the county lines phenomenon, in which gangs in cities such as London, Birmingham and Liverpool use children as young as 11 to deal mostly heroin and crack cocaine in smaller towns and rural areas via a network of dedicated mobile phones.

The deputy assistant commissioner, Duncan Ball, the national policing lead for county lines, said: “Use of modern slavery legislation is an important aspect of targeting those criminal networks who exploit vulnerable children and adults to maximise their profits from drug supply. Today’s convictions send a clear message that we will utilise all legislation nationally to suppress county line activity.”

The three men kept the victims in drug users’ homes in Portsmouth and controlled their travel, police said. The victims received instructions via mobile phone telling them where to sell or drop off drugs.

Whenever heroin and crack cocaine became available, a text message was sent out by the defendants via their drug lines to all their customers. Users would call back to place their order. It was not unusual for a drug line to receive 200-300 calls a day from users.

Alford, Karemera and Wabelua frequently met the victims at night to resupply the drug lines and to facilitate individual drug deals on the streets of Portsmouth.

Each line had its own “brand name” to ensure users knew who the message was from, even when the number had changed. Alford ran the “Duffy” line, Karemera ran the “Mitch” line and Wabelua ran the “Fly” line.

After selling the drugs, the victims would deposit their earnings, which could be as much as £2,000 a day.

Five of the victims came to notice when they were arrested by Hampshire police for drug offences in Portsmouth in spring 2014. The sixth victim, who was 19 at the time, was identified as a vulnerable adult and came to notice via an outreach worker.

In 2016, Alford received an 11-year sentence for the drug offences, Karemera was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment and Wabelua received a sentence of six years and eight months after an early guilty plea. They will be sentenced for the trafficking offences on 14 May.

Tim Champion, safeguarding lead at the National County Lines Coordination Centre, said:“Exploiting vulnerable children in this way is unacceptable, and individuals who do this will be prioritised and find themselves additionally convicted of human trafficking offences, which are often subject to long prison sentences.

“The issue of county lines is very complex and brings together deep-rooted criminal behaviour, such as gang membership, drug supply, drug abuse and human trafficking.”