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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Alexandra Topping

New laws to protect children exploited by gangs in England and Wales ‘will save lives’

Anonymous teenager on a BMX-type bicycle talks to two shadowy figures through a wire fence; it is dark and his face is covered with a scarf and hood.
Criminals using children to run drug distribution county lines or commit other crimes will face up to a decade in prison under the new measures. Photograph: Gary Calton/The Observer

Long-overdue laws to protect children forced into selling drugs across county lines will save lives and block a “brutal and lucrative criminal business”, the former children’s commissioner has said.

In a series of new measures aimed at cracking down on exploitative gangs and antisocial behaviour, criminals using children to run county lines or commit other crimes will face up to a decade in prison.

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