Fears gangs could recruit children to perpetrate extreme violence 

Gardaí and youth workers are keeping a close eye on trends in Europe of children being recruited by drug gangs to carry out more senior distribution roles and acts of extreme violence, including murders. Picture: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire

Gardaí and youth workers are keeping a close eye on trends in Europe of children being recruited by drug gangs to carry out more senior distribution roles and acts of extreme violence, including murders.

It follows the publication of an intelligence notification by Europol, the EU police agency, detailing the recruitment of minors to carry out tasks like managing drug warehouses and extracting drugs at importation stage.

It also warns that, in some member states, children are being tasked to carry out gangland attacks, including killings.

There has been huge concern in Sweden and Denmark recently over children being used to carry out murders, often recruited through social media.

In its notification, Europol said the use of minors in the drug trade is not a new trend, but added: “In recent years, this trend has expanded across more countries, with recruitment methods evolving and minors being tasked with violent acts such as extortion and killings."

It said children are now appearing in national and international investigations being used primarily by gangs in the cocaine and cannabis markets.

“These criminal networks employ minors aged on average between 13 and 17 for various roles, including local street dealers, couriers, warehouse operators, drug extractors from shipping containers and participants in ‘rip off’ activities (removal of drugs from criminal distribution channels),” the notification said.

Europol said the use of minors for rip-off activities was “previously rare to non-existing” but now nearly comprises 10% of cases in some countries.

The police agency said social media is increasingly playing a key role: “Online platforms have become instrumental in recruiting minors for roles ranging from low-level drug couriers to drug extractors and even perpetrators of violent drug-related crimes, including murder.

Social media posts often glamourise drug dealing, offering minors substantial financial incentives – ranging from a few thousand euros to as much as €20,000 for killings”.

It said that slang and images are used to appeal to young people and flagged a new recruitment approach called “gamification”, using the language of online gaming and even using videogames as instruction tools for shooting.

Irish security sources said there is “no evidence” of children being placed at higher levels within drug gangs, such as drug extraction at import or distributions stages, nor being used as killers.

Sources said children are used at street or local drug dealing level. One source said: “Ireland tends to be only a few years, at most, behind the rest of Europe, so we have to take note of this report.” 

The Solas Project in Dublin works with minors caught up in the drugs trade. Justice Programmes Manager Ashling Golden said: “In Solas Project we are experiencing young people from the age of 12 being involved particularly in the sale and movement of drugs, and exactly as the report suggests, it starts small with low amounts of usually cannabis, something that can be seen as not a big deal, until the hook is in deeper and they are working an organised shift in the sale of a pick of mix of drugs."

“Social media is the platform for advertising the goods for sale, images of the stock, the price list and even sometimes delivery offers. You can sit at home, pick what you want for your night out and have a child arrange it all for you.” 

She said they have not yet experienced young people being recruited on a significant basis through social media or the ‘gaming’ concept.

“While accepting that this may still develop, the recruitment of minors into criminal networks here, is still largely happening at a community level,” she said.

She said children are attracted to the access to wealth and status.

She said young people baulk when they are told they have been “groomed” and don’t see the relationship with dealers that way.

“A harsh reality is that poverty and social exclusion creates a fertile recruitment ground for crime by depriving young people of economic opportunities, stable support systems and a sense of belonging,” Ms Golden said.

She said the continued criminalisation of young people caught with drugs “further entrenches” them in the cycle of crime, limiting their future job prospects, isolating them from positive influences and “reinforcing reliance” on criminal networks for survival.