I’m getting in touch about an investigation I’m working on and wondering if the NWG Network could help. 

It concerns the grooming of underage girls by drug gangs using technology. From what we’ve heard, vulnerable girls are approached on social media sites and groomed by members of these gangs to smuggle drugs and other goods. Often, sexual exploitation is part of the coercion. 

I was wondering if this is something that you’ve come across, and whether any of you could help me understand the scope and size of this problem. 

At this stage, I’m looking for an informal, off-the-record conversation, as I’m in the early research stage of this investigation. I’d really like to understand more about this issue and understand if what I hear from academics is happening on the ground. 

I would love to talk to: 

Young people, especially girls, who have lived the experience of being recruited into a drug gang. In particular, I’m interested in how social media and technology might have been used to groom them or build trust – and to control them. I’d love to talk to anyone with experience of images being used as a method of blackmail and control, who has been threatened with sexual images being leaked, or who have been groomed or forced into sending sexual images. I’m especially keen to talk to girls and women from Wales, but if anyone from outside of Wales wants to contact me, or indeed any boys who’ve experienced some of these issues, I’d love to talk to them. 

Practitioners who work with children, especially girls, at risk of exploitation by drug gangs. I’d love to talk to anyone who’s supported young people with image-based abuse and has knowledge of different social media that are used for exploitation, such as Telegram and OnlyFans. 

Just to make it absolutely clear also, if any young people do want to talk to me, we can make sure that they remain totally anonymous. We offer to pay for therapy for anyone who feels that talking to us could re-traumatise them. I am also completely happy for young people to meet me (with a support/caseworker if they are underage) however many times they like to decide whether they’d want to talk to me for this programme – even if they meet me a number of times and then decide it’s not for them, that is completely fine. 

Many thanks,

Charanpreet Khaira

Senior Journalist Reporter – Swansea

BBC Wales News

07513712220

[email protected]