MORE than 13,500 salves could be in the South East a new report has revealed.

The report, based on police data, claims there are likely to be more than 100,000 victims of slavery in the UK, which is 10 times the official figure estimated by the government.

More than 13,500 of these could be in the South East, claims the report, produced by the think-tank The Centre for Social Justice and the anti-slavery charity Justice and Care.

It suggests that the issue of human trafficking is likely to intensify in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, and is already costing the taxpayer many billions of pounds.

Modern slaves are frequently trafficked from abroad, although in the last three years the UK has been the top country of origin of suspected slavery victims.

The report calls on the government to do more to understand the scale of the problem, including analysing other police force’s data to build a better national picture of the problem.

Traffickers abuse and exploit their victims in various ways, with the most common types of exploitation being labour, sexual, criminal and domestic.

Slavery is often linked to other crimes such as gangs using identities of victims to commit benefit fraud or to control and coerce them with alcohol and drugs to beg in the streets, engage in the sale of illicit tobacco or work in brothels or car washes.

In February, an Andover drug dealer was the first person to be convicted for modern slavery in Hampshire.

As previously reported, Kadeem Hibbert was jailed for more than two years after admitting to acts of slavery to a 13-year-old boy.

The 18-year-old of Livia Close, Andover, arranged nine days of travel for the teenage boy and arranged for him to deal Class A drugs, Winchester Crown Court heard.

He also admitted to possession of crack cocaine and heroin with intent to supply.

In Hampshire, a Modern Slavery Partnership has created the first ever victim pathway for modern slavery victims in the county, after the Home Office reported a 52 per cent increase last year in potential victims.

In Hampshire, a report published in March by Hampshire Constabulary, shows an increase of 49 per cent of modern slavery crimes, rising from 111 the previous year to 165.

Formal action was taken for only one of these incidents.

The new pathway aims to provide a shared step-by-step process that simplifies and unifies reporting and better enables access to support for victims.

Alan Hagger, head of strategic commissioning at the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Hampshire, and co-chair of the Modern Slavery Partnership Steering Group, said: “With the number of victims being identified increasing year on year it is vital that there is a clear process for front line staff to follow should they come across a suspected victim.

“The new Hampshire Modern Slavery Victim Pathway sets out the steps needed to ensure victims receive support quickly and the appropriate agencies are involved.”

A spokesperson for Hampshire Constabulary added: “Modern slavery is a truly appalling crime, and tackling those exploiting vulnerable people in this way is one of our key priorities as a force.

“In recent years, we have used a sustained programme of operational activity, which includes arrest warrants and working with our partners to identify victims of modern slavery.

“Raising awareness of the signs of this is key in making Hampshire and the Isle of Wight a hostile place for perpetrators of this crime and a supportive place for anyone who finds themselves a victim of it.

“We have an action plan in place within our force control room to ensure the appropriate response is given to any reports of modern slavery.

“Modern slavery is an issue we must tackle in partnership, particularly identifying vulnerable victims. It does not always involve the trafficking of people from outside the UK. Its links to drug networks in particular demonstrates that vulnerable UK nationals are also exposed to this.

“We all need to look for the signs of modern slavery and take action, to protect those being exploited.”

Christian Guy, the CEO of Justice and Care, said the problems are the “tip of the iceberg”.

He added: “By nature, human trafficking is a hidden crime. It happens behind closed doors, in our towns and cities. What we have heard are known stories -there will be many more that are yet to cross the path of police, local authorities or charities.”

The report found whilst the crime was widespread, few in the public knew what to do if they saw signs of human trafficking.

An exclusive poll found almost 60 per cent of people would not know how to report their concerns.

The former foreign secretary and Conservative leader, Lord William Hague, said: “Most people find it hard to believe that, nearly 200 years after Britain formally abolished slavery, the terrible crime of holding another human being enslaved is still widespread here. That is because modern slavery is hidden from view, even though it is all around us.

If anyone has seen or is experiencing modern slavery, they can contact the confidential modern slavery helpline on 0800 012 1700 or for more information go to the modern slavery partnership website. For more details about the signs of modern slavery visit https://www.justiceandcare.org/spotting-the-signs-of-slavery/.