Children criminalised by drug trade, says ex-addict

Vulnerable children and young people are being groomed into the drug trade and criminalised, an ex-heroin addict jailed as a teenager has said.

Vinnie Condron, 47, from Cardiff, said he started taking drugs aged 11 and ended up being the "slave" of a drugs gang.

It comes as a Senedd committee finds criminals are targeting children in care, those with learning disabilities or neurodivergence and those excluded from school.

The Welsh government said it would work with the UK government and other partners to prevent the exploitation of children.

"I was a traumatised child, born into the care system," Mr Condron told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.

With no role models, he said he left school and became a target for drug dealers.

"It started off with subtle things like a little bit of money here, free drugs here or 'can you just do us a little favour and drop somebody there?'"

The gangs "saw his vulnerabilities", taking advantage of his neurodivergence and "craving for a family unit".

"They spotted that, so I [became] totally dependant on the drugs there were giving me," he said.

Before long he was living with regular threats of violence.

"It wasn't a friendly thing anymore.

"I was their slave... my life wasn't my own anymore."

He ended up in jail at the age of 18 and, by his early 20s, he had £60,000 in drug debt and had survived a shooting meant to kill him.

"I had so many drug overdoses, technically, I shouldn't he here. But I am," he said.

"I was criminalised because I was groomed and abused."

Mr Condron turned his life around and now works to help others with drug and alcohol problems while advocating for social change.

His story is mirrored by the findings of the Children, Young People and Education Committee, which said opportunities to stop organised crime groups taking advantage of children were being missed.

It heard evidence that few exploited children were regularly attending school.

Conservative committee member Tom Gifford said: "Young people in almost every part of Wales are being dragged into this.

"The whole system needs to do a better job at talking to each other to make sure young people don't fall between the gap."

Action for Children reported that more than 90% of the children referred to their services in Wales had faced exclusion from education.

Wales reached it highest ever rates of exclusions from schools at the end of October this year, according to the latest released figures.

"The pandemic has changed the nature of behaviour in the classroom," Mr Gifford said.

"Teachers are often in an impossible position.

"We've asked the Welsh government to look at whether the guidance for schools can be updated to reflect the wider risk factors of exploitation."

Mr Condron blamed drugs laws, which he said were "killing people".

"I'm not saying we need to legalise all drugs... but we really need to look at how we are criminalising these kids," he said.

"Once you are in the criminal justice system you are gone, you're lost.

"There's an epidemic in this country of kids and young adults being failed."

The Welsh government said: “No child or young person should be subjected to exploitation and abuse.

"We will continue to work closely with the UK government and other partners on these issues, and will respond to the committee in due course."

Children's Commissioner for Wales, Rocio Cifuentes, said there was undoubtedly a strong link between the "significant risks to children" identified in the report and school attendance and exclusion.

"This is a national failure that must be addressed," she said.

Ms Cifuentes urged the Welsh government to accept the recommendations and begin their implementation immediately.