I was sexually groomed into being a drugs & gun mule at 13 – my parents missed the signs… why girls are MORE at risk now

COLD, scared and vulnerable, 14-year-old Gemma Caffrey boarded a ferry from France without drawing a second glance. Passengers and border officers paid no attention to the petite ­teenager from a church-going family in Greater Manchester, who was travelling with a much older man. Gemma Caffrey was a forced to become a drug mule as a teenager Credit: Paul Cousans Aged just 14, carried thousands of drugs for a gang that groomed her Credit: Supplied And that is exactly the way her “handlers” wanted it. Because Gemma was secretly ­carrying thousands of pounds worth of drugs to sell on Britain’s streets after being exploited by criminals and used as a mule. She was among a growing number of young girls subjected to horrors including knife attacks, brutal kidnappings and the enforced smuggling of illegal substances and guns. Charities working with young people like Gemma say around 20 to 30 per cent of couriers are now female. Meanwhile, a 2022 report for the Commission For Young Lives found up to 60,000 girls in England are vulnerable to serious violence. Gemma, now a 45-year-old youth worker, was just 13 when she was first groomed by a trusted adult she believed she was in a relationship with. The abuse happened under the noses of her respectable mum, who worked in a doctor’s surgery, and her sales director dad. But she says they missed the warning signs as they were “a bit naive.” Speaking for the first time about her ordeal, she said: “My ­parents are church-goers and hadn’t been exposed to anything like this before. “He [the adult man] groomed me sexually — it was child sexual exploitation, but I thought he was my boyfriend. When I look back, I just think how awful it was, but you become desensitised.” Gemma, from Rochdale, described how she would be “put out to commit crimes”, adding: “First off, it was using stolen credit cards. “I would go into shops, buy stuff with the stolen cards and then they would sell it on. Or I would open credit accounts in stores for big items. “Then I got into heavier stuff, where they were ­asking me to carry guns. “I was put on ferries where I was transporting drugs to different places — the UK, France, Germany. “I was with an older man, but I was the one carrying the drugs. “The idea was that because I was just a 14-year-old girl, border ­control would not look at me. “I was with an older guy and we had different surnames on our passports, but nothing was ever flagged.” She is now telling her story for the first time Credit: Paul Cousans Gemma, here with her grandma, was just 13 when she began to be groomed by someone she thought was her boyfriend Credit: Supplied Recalling in harrowing detail how she was subjected to extreme violence, Gemma added: “I’ve had machetes held to my neck, I’ve had guns pointed at me, so I would bag drugs up, handle the money. “I’ve seen lads being beaten to a pulp with bats while I was sat in a corner watching. “It sounds awful, but it got to the point where I wasn’t scared any more. “It became normal, an everyday way of life. And you don’t see that you are being used. “At one point, when I was 17, I was held hostage and kidnapped. “I had been sent to rob some drugs and I was snatched and put in the back of a car. “I was kept in a house for a day and a half until I managed to escape through a window.” Gemma became desensitised to the violence surrounding her Credit: Supplied Aged 17 she was kidnapped and held hostage Credit: Paul Cousans Ex-Detective Chief Inspector Lee Davies says Gemma’s story is all too familiar to officers working on county lines and serious organised crime, with young girls at risk of violence, kidnap and debt bondage. He says: “I have seen the cruel end of gang activity and, at the worst end, females are hooked on to drugs, used by the county line gangs as sex slaves, then discarded. “There’s significant risk of kidnap linked to county line gangs. This is chaotic, violent and high risk.” Gemma’s horrific childhood experiences shaped and tarnished her early adult life and led her into a string of toxic relationships. It was only when she was jailed for six months in 2014 after being involved in a VAT fraud scam that she took action to break the cycle. She said: “I was there in Styal Prison thinking, ‘How have I ended up in here? I am not a bad person’. “I have always had a conscience. I was brought up in a nice house, my parents had good jobs, plenty of money. I had everything. “I had not been brought up to end up in prison.” Her experiences as a teen tarnished her early adult life Credit: Supplied She even ended up in prison in 2014 for her part in a VAT fraud scam Credit: Paul Cousans Determined to turn her life around, Gemma began taking courses in jail and realised she wanted to help other offenders. When she got out, she worked with charity Step Together, which helps women released from prison. She got a health and social care degree so she had the qualifications to back up her lived experience. Now, she mentors girls who have been through similar. And she has urged all parents to educate themselves about the signs of gang abuse. “If I can escape from that life, anybody can,” she explains. “If you have someone to speak to who has been in the same place, you are more likely to listen to them. “I only wish I’d had someone to speak to when I was in that situation. “It is an issue that is massively overlooked. She now mentors girls who have been through similar experiences Credit: Supplied She is now in a happy relationship with her partner, Matthew Credit: Supplied “These young girls are probably being groomed and exploited more than the boys and they can be in grave, grave danger. “There is more that can be done. “There needs to be more funding. “If I can give someone else the bravery to get the help they need to break free, then it is worth it.”