Teens ‘forced into sex and crime to pay off drug debt, says bereaved mum

Young people in Northern Ireland are being forced into sex and criminal activities to pay off drug debts, a BBC Spotlight investigation has revealed.

Academic and community sources spoke of allegations of rape and violence in exchange for debt relief.

In some cases, it has been reported that this action could reduce the amount an individual has to pay by £40 or £50.

Police said a multi-agency approach was needed to address the root causes and effects of drug use.

Nicola O’Connor, an addiction and suicide support worker in west Belfast, told the program that teenagers were being forced into sex acts to pay off drug debts.

She said many of them had been given addresses and believed they would be assaulted if they were not given a deadline for payment.

“Every time they get there, they realize they’re there to pay through sex,” she said.

O’Connor said she has also worked with children as young as eight years old who were using drugs at school.

“Pharmaceutical industry in primary schools is between fifth and seventh place,” she says.

“Then you go to secondary school and all these dealers, there will be someone distributing drugs in all these schools.

“Dope is like the biggest thing they really come with at that age, because it comes from smoking.

“Then they start dabbling in smaller, lower-end things.” [level] tablet. Cocaine is usually more prevalent in people older than their teens. ”

Ms O’Connor’s 18-year-old son Eamon took his own life in 2018, which she believes was partly due to debts he owed to drug dealers.

“No matter where he moved, someone would meet him from morning until night and take his money,” Nicola said on the show.

“If you didn’t have money to give to the dealer, they would keep your property until you came back with the money.

“He had nothing else to pawn,” she said.

In December 2023, an independent reporting commission found that paramilitary groups are central to the drug trade, threatening families and forcing children to engage in criminal activities, including sexual exploitation, to pay off debts.

Dr Colm Walsh, from Queen’s University Belfast, has been asked to investigate the causes of the Lanark Way riots in Belfast in 2021, finding that paramilitary groups and criminal organizations are using drugs to criminalize children. I think it’s inviting me.

“There is a very close relationship between drugs and criminal exploitation,” he says.

“Young people [are] In addition to being offered drugs as a type of incentive, drugs may also be provided to others as part of a criminal activity in which the other person is encouraged to participate.

“Boys and young men behaved very differently than girls and young women. For girls, the focus tended to be sexual acts.”

Roy McComb, a former senior detective in the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and former deputy commissioner of the National Crime Agency (NCA), believes a multi-agency approach should be developed at Stormont.

“What organized crime has done is just grafted onto the existing structure of paramilitary groups,” McComb told Spotlight.

“There are very rich opportunities for these major international criminal groups to operate within or in collaboration with existing militias.

“This is a very difficult and very dangerous situation for us,” he said.

“Rather than paramilitary groups disappearing as the peace process progresses in Northern Ireland, they are simply enabling organized crime to become even more entrenched in our country.”

Detective Commissioner Emma Neill said: “We will thoroughly investigate the import, supply and use of drugs and will actively pursue those involved in drug crime, including organized crime groups and paramilitary groups.” .

“This issue is not only a criminal justice issue, but requires a multi-agency approach to address the root causes and effects of drug use,” she said.

“Police are working with legal partners to ensure the public understands the risks and dangers associated with obtaining and using illegal drugs.”

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