The Argus. United Kingdom.<\/p>\n
Grim figures from the National\u00a0Crime\u00a0Agency reveal the number of youngsters known to be experiencing labour and sexual exploitation in the county.<\/p>\n
Sussex Police\u00a0found 32 children being exploited in 2018.<\/p>\n
Six girls and one boy were exploited sexually.<\/p>\n
And four girls and 18 boys were exploited for their labour.<\/p>\n
Children make up 75 per cent of victims of modern slavery in Sussex.<\/p>\n
City councillor Emma Daniel, who helped set up an initiative to tackle the problem in Brighton and Hove, said: \u201cThese criminal gangs tend to target children in the care system, that\u2019s how cruel they are. Children are a business to them. They are a commodity, they\u2019re not considered human.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last year, The Argus reported how criminals were enlisting children to sell drugs in a city centre park. Dealers from London were targeting younger and younger teenagers at The Level in Brighton.<\/p>\n
It is a lucrative business for criminals called \u201ccounty lines\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n