CHILD slaves are being smuggled from around the world to Greater Manchester to work for gangsters, the MEN can reveal today.

Youngsters, as young as 11, are brought in by people traffickers and forced to work for criminals - including acting as guards and labourers at cannabis farms.

The shocking trade in children has been highlighted by the case of a Vietmanese boy who police found tending a drug farm in a suburb of Salford. He was taken into care but has now gone missing - sparking fears that his criminal masters may have snatched him back.

Senior police and council officials say the boy's plight is part of a wider problem.

Detective Chief Inspector, Geoff Wessell, of Salford CID, said: "Children are being brought into this country for the sole purpose of operating and maintaining cannabis farms.

"I'm led to believe that there have been other cases like this elsewhere in the country. It is the first we have had in Salford.

Victim

"The child was treated by us as a victim, when he was found at the cannabis farm.

Paul Woltman, assistant director of children's services at Salford Council, said: "The extent to which people are uncovering this kind of thing is variable in different parts of the country. It is only more recently that we have been made aware of it.

"It is a national issue. Youngsters are arriving here with no parents. It is very difficult to get background information."

It is believed that a branch of the criminal organisation, the Triads, could be behind the operation to bring children into the area. The group, known as the Snakeheads, specialise in human trafficking.

Four years ago five members of the group were sentenced to a total of 42 years at Manchester Crown Court after kidnapping and torturing an asylum seeker.

Read more about the plight of the missing cannabis boy via the link on the right of this page.