The Guardian

Modern slavery referrals up 300% in UK due to improved identification

Increase included doubling of number of Vietnamese men used to farm cannabis since 2015, Salvation Army figures reveal
Young Vietmanese men tended a vast cannabis factory hidden in a disused underground nuclear bunker at RGHQ Chilmark in Wiltshire. Photograph: David Levene for the Guardian

There has been a 300% increase in the number of victims of modern slavery referred for support in the past six years, and a huge increase in the number of men from Vietnam trafficked to work in illegal cannabis farms.

Almost half (48%) of those referred to the government programme were brought to the UK for sexual exploitation, 39% were trafficked for labour exploitation and 13% for domestic servitude, according to figures released by the Salvation Army.

The charity,

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