A teenager who was reported missing was found by police ‘working’ as a drug slave; held captive in a London flat. The victim in the case, who was 16 at the time, had been reported missing by his family on February 13 – four days before he was found.
The boy was only found by accident when Met Police officers turned up looking for someone else on an unrelated matter. There they found the victim – who was being forced to package-up crack cocaine and heroin without being allowed out to buy food.
Abdullahi Dable, 26, and Malik Touray, 20, were jailed for a total of eight years at Cardiff Crown Court this month. Dable and Touray threatened him if he spoke to anyone, and would not let him out to buy food (instead it was delivered).
The victim was made to tell them he was working on a building site in Bristol, but they had concerns and reported him missing to South Wales Police. In fact, he was being held in the flat and forced to sort Class As.
As police entered the flat, they found the teen locked in a room along with piles of heroin on a coffee table. The subsequent police investigation found evidence Dable, going by ‘Billy’, told the boy to download Telegram, and during a Facetime call, warned the boy to follow instructions to avoid getting hurt. There was more evidence the men had tried to recruit other Cardiff youngsters.
Both men were arrested and charged with conspiring to arrange or facilitate travel of another person with a view to exploitation and conspiring to supply crack cocaine and heroin. Their sentences were:
- Abdullahi Dable, 26 – jailed for four years and six months
- Malik Touray, 20 – jailed for three years and six months in a young offender institution
Officer in the Case, Detective Constable Anna Chad Nixon, said: “The victim in this case was vulnerable and subjected to inhumane treatment by these two men. Both men knew they were recruiting a child into their dangerous criminal activities, showing no concern for his welfare and only thinking of themselves and their drug profits.
“In this case, the victim feared for himself and his family to the extent that he did not want to proceed with a prosecution. Despite this we were able to build a very strong case against both men and proceed with a victimless prosecution.”
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