Two men charged with modern slavery offences
The men travelled from London to Ipswich with two 13 year old boys with intent to force them to sell drugs
Two men have been charged in connection with exploiting vulnerable children.
The charges relate to an incident that occurred on the 28 December 2022, when two men are alleged to have travelled from London to Ipswich with two 13-year-old boys with the intent to force them to carry out the sale of illegal drugs against their will.
The children managed to escape, and police were alerted, but the men had already left Ipswich. One of the teenagers was later found to have been reported as missing from Kent.
As a result of the subsequent police investigation, officers executed four search warrants in London on Wednesday 24 May, making two arrests and seizing a quantity of suspected Class A drugs. The suspects were transported back to Suffolk for questioning and subsequently charged.
Alex Afxentrou, aged 21 and of Cross Road in Romford, was charged with two counts of arranging or facilitating the travel of an individual for exploitation under Section 2 of the Modern Slavery Act.
Dillon Brown, aged 18 and of Aldborough Road North in Ilford, was also charged with two counts of arranging or facilitating the travel of an individual for exploitation under Section 2 of the Modern Slavery Act. He was also charged with possession of a class A drug, namely cocaine, with the intent to supply and possession of a controlled drug, namely cannabis, with intent to supply.
The pair appeared before Ipswich Magistrates’ Court on Thursday 25 May. Brown was remanded in custody and Afxentrou was granted conditional bail. They are due to appear at Ipswich Crown Court on Thursday 22 June.