Ireland: Major Route for Child Trafficking

IRELAND -- Ireland has been pinpointed as a major route for trafficking children doomed to a life of slavery or prostitution in Britain.

An official report from the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) explicitly names Ireland as a route for bringing illicit human cargo into the UK.

It comes after garda and immigration authorities said there was no major problem, in the wake of a BBC documentary where a suspect admitted to smuggling children through Rosslare port. The government document, to be published online today, was designed for children's agencies across Wales.

The report says that traffickers are finding the "classic" routes into Britain -- ferries from France or through the larger London airports -- increasingly difficult to get through due to heightened security. So they are now looking to other points of entry, with the Ireland-Wales ferry links a major alternative. The Migrant Rights Centre of Ireland last night said it believes the law gives Ireland a "soft touch" image for traffickers...

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