A man has been jailed after hiring children to sell drugs in Newham and across the country.

Dominic Francis, 31, was sentenced to five years and ten months imprisonment on Friday (July 7) at Snaresbrook Crown Court after pleading guilty to various offences on November 16 last year.

Francis, sentenced alongside another man, was charged with two counts of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs, two counts of conspiracy to supply Class B drugs and conspiracy to facilitate the movement of a vulnerable person for the purpose of exploitation, namely a Newham boy, 14.

He was also issued with a Slavery Trafficking Order for six years.

Det Ch Insp Laura Hillier, from The Met’s Specialist Crime, said: “This investigation has brought justice to a man who used the lives of young and vulnerable people for his own personal gain.

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"We focused on rescuing these children who had no option but to do as they were told through fear of violence from those controlling them.

“Francis also implicated drug suppliers higher up the criminal chain which led to a further investigation into a separate crime group.

"This also resulted in the disruption of a drugs line that had been in existence for over 15 years.”

During the investigation, police seized five kilograms of Class A drugs, namely cocaine, heroin and a large quantity of cannabis and £90,000 cash.

Francis and another man, 22, were arrested following an investigation by the Met's Modern Slavery and Child Exploitation unit, which began in 2020.

The second man, 22, of Newham, was sentenced to three years and two months’ imprisonment for two counts of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs, two counts of conspiracy to supply Class B drugs with the use of children as an aggravating a factor.

He has since been released since it was deemed he had already served his time while in custody.

A woman, 55, was previously sentenced on April 28 to an eight months’ sentence suspended for 15 months for two counts of convert or transfer criminal property, committing an act with intent to prevent the course of public justice, and racially aggravated harassment without violence.

She was also ordered to carry out 40 days of community rehab activity.

Francis, at the time in prison, made phone calls to the 22-year-old man and ordered him to recruit children to supply drugs from Newham and across London and the south east.

The male, 22, was located to an address in Kent, allowing officers to arrest him for his involvement in running the drugs chain.

Officers also safeguarded two children, a 14-year-old boy and 16-year-old girl, who were at times in possession of the drugs phone line.

If you have information that could help keep your community safe, but don’t want to speak to police, contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.