Social services in England have asked for the public’s help in locating four young Albanians categorized as “missing”.
According to data published by the organization “Missing People”, to which Top Channel journalist Muhamed Veliu refers, one of them has been wanted since 2018.
He is Bledar Ismailaj, at the time of the “disappearance” he was 17 years old and lived in the Kings Lynn area, Norfolk.
Ervis Ndreca, 17, is another young man wanted after he fled social services in Hove, East Sussex on 14/07/2022.
Akil Dervishi, also 17 years old, has been declared “missing” from the Sussex area, last seen on 04/05/2022.
The public’s help is being sought in finding Denis Haliaj, 17, who after arriving in England was accommodated in Manchester. The last contact with Denis was on 15/08/2021.
According to a December 2022 BBC report, “up to 20 percent of Albanian migrant children who were placed with a local council in England in 2022 have been classified as missing.”
Kent Regional Council accepted 197 unaccompanied Albanian migrant children until October 31, 2022, but figures show that 39 of them have gone missing.
British media reports highlight that these children considered missing are at extreme risk of becoming victims of human trafficking, modern slavery, exploitation for work in construction or car washes, as well as criminal exploitation on cannabis farms or in drug distribution networks (“county lines”).