Trafficking fears over drug case convictions

Cases involving Asian men convicted of cannabis cultivation are being reviewed by gardaí over fears they were actually victims of human trafficking and have been imprisoned for crimes they were forced to commit.

The details have emerged as an EU report released on European Anti-Trafficking Day reveals that between 2010 and 2012, 183 people were the victims of human trafficking in Ireland.

Of these, 38 were victims of labour exploitation; 132 were victims of sexual exploitation; and 13 victims of other forms of exploitation such as forced begging.