“Their actions were thoroughly reprehensible"
Two men from Bradford have been jailed for their roles in trafficking a vulnerable boy into slave labour at a cannabis farm in the city.
Bradford Crown Court heard that Zain Bashir committed the offence for a free bag of drugs while Usmaan Tasif transported the 14-year-old child to the drugs factory in a white Mercedes.
Katherine Robinson, prosecuting, said that the child was sold into slavery in his home country of Vietnam and transported to China.
The boy was then brought to the UK in a lorry and rescued by the authorities from a cannabis farm in November 2020.
The child was settled with a loving foster family in the area. However, he went missing.
A large-scale CCTV trawl showed him getting into the Mercedes.
It was heard that Tasif was driving the vehicle while Bashir was a passenger.
The boy was forced to work at the cannabis farm for a few days. After a few days, he was dropped off near his home.
Both men refused to provide the passcodes to their phones.
The police were able to access Bashir’s phone. Officers found photos and videos relating to cannabis farms.
Both men pleaded guilty to arranging or facilitating the travel of the boy on January 23, 2021, with a view to him being exploited, contrary to the Modern Slavery Act.
Glenn Parsons, for Bashir, said his client was remorseful.
He was doing a favour for his drug dealer and he paid a heavy price for it.
Bashir did not set up the cannabis farm or make any threats towards the boy.
Mr Parsons said his client had brought shame on his religious and law-abiding family.
Mr Parsons added: “He accepts that his chickens will come home to roost today.”
Rebecca Young, for Tasif, said he did not know what was going on.
She said: “He found himself in a situation that day which he should have extricated himself from and didn’t.”
At first, Tasif did not realise anything was wrong but once he was arrested, he knew how serious it was.
Judge Jonathan Rose said of Bashir’s role:
“That was the price for taking a 14-year-old boy to slave labour.”
He stated that Tasif transported the teenager out of misguided loyalty.
Zain Bashir, aged 25, of Frizinghall, was jailed for four years and nine months.
Usmaan Tasif, aged 26, of Bradford Moor, was jailed for three years and four months.
Detective Chief Inspector Andy Farrell, of Bradford District Police, said:
“These two men thought nothing of exploiting a vulnerable teenager and taking him away from a place of safety to work in a dangerous environment.
“Their actions were thoroughly reprehensible and this has been recognised by the courts.
“Human trafficking and modern-day slavery are abhorrent crimes that trade in human misery and have no place in the world today.
“They are also crimes which we treat incredibly seriously in West Yorkshire and our Programme Precision teams work with partners such as the National County Lines Coordination Centre, to safeguard those at risk and take action against those who seek to exploit them.”
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