I was groomed by a major Scots crime gang – I was at their mercy out of fears of being murdered

A SCOTS teen has told of being at the mercy of a crime gang and fears being murdered by speaking out about his ordeal.

The youngster says he was drawn into a world of drugs and violence as the mystery hoods took control of his life.

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The teen, named only as Joe to protect his identity, shared his story amid growing fears about crime lords grooming kids to work for their sinister networks.

Joe said: “I had no friends, I was by myself all the time.

“But if I did what they did, they were my friends.

“They controlled my life without me realising they were controlling my life.”

The Glasgow lad told the BBC he sold drugs and attacked the gang’s rivals, facing violence himself unless he followed orders.

When asked what would happen if the criminals knew he was speaking in the media, he replied: “I don’t think I’d be alive, seriously.

“I genuinely think I would end up six feet under.

“If they wanted me to go and sell something for them I had to go and do it.

“If I had to go and hit someone for them, I had to go and do it or it was me who was paying the price.”

His mum Michelle – not her real name – said the evil kingpins preying on children were “like the devil”.

She added: “You want to kill them but you can’t do anything.”

The mum also claims her efforts to seek help for her son came to nothing.

She added: “I tried everything. I tried phoning the police, I tried going to school, I tried social services.

“They told me it was all in my head, like I was a bad parent. There was nothing wrong.”

The boy has since escaped the gang’s clutches thanks to a youth worker from the charity Action for Children through one of its projects tackling criminal exploitation.

He credits the charity with helping him realise he had a brighter future.

He is said to be one of thousands of youngsters across Scotland and the UK who are being exploited by organised mobs.

Leading child-protection expert Professor Alexis Jay headed the newly-published Jay  Review commissioned by Action for Children which lifts the lid on the issue.

She warned there is an urgent crisis and called for a national strategy as well as new legislation.

Speaking about her findings, she said: “A big factor in it appeared to be loneliness, isolation, the desire and how good it felt to be part of something, even though it was criminal activity.

“What I found most shocking generally was the casual violence that was involved.

“Knife crime, of course, but we also heard about the use of machetes, bats and hammers and axes.

“It needs a national focus and a national strategy and equally importantly it needs the introduction of a new offence of child criminal exploitation.”

Asked about current efforts to tackle the danger to kids, she added: “It’s uncoordinated, fragmented, piecemeal.”

Her recommendations include a “single, cohesive legal code” designed to tackle the criminal exploitation of children.

Fiona Steel, the charity’s national director for Scotland, said: “Exploiters are efficient at identifying, recruiting and exploiting vulnerable young people, and are often far better at spotting them than the authorities.

“This review has confirmed the system is failing and letting down some of Scotland’s most vulnerable children. 

“This is an urgent crisis with devastating impacts which needs a four nations approach.

“We are calling on the Scottish Government and all political parties to develop and implement action to prevent the criminal exploitation of children, including a new specific offence in Scots law of criminally exploiting children.”

A spokesperson for the Home Office said: “We are committed to tackling child criminal exploitation and backing our police and partners with all the powers necessary to stamp out this behaviour.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said efforts to tackle child exploitation was a “key priority” and it was working with cops, Action for Children and local authorities.

We told last year how crimebusters launched a scheme to stop “cost-of-living” kids being lured into gangs by ruthless organised mobsters.

The move came amid rising fears over hoods drawing poor youngsters into their nefarious networks involving guns, drugs and even murder.

Scotland’s criminal prosecutors joined forces with cops and children’s charity chiefs in a bid to smash the mobs’ exploitation traps.

The pilot is being run under the expert eyes of the Serious Organised Crime Taskforce and will use ‘early intervention” to break the evil recruitment cycle.

Scotland’s Solicitor General, Ruth Charteris KC, said at the time: “Organised crime creates a pernicious danger to communities throughout Scotland and adversely affects all those who live in these communities.

“It carries a very human price and inflicts a very damaging toll on many people.”

Earlier this month, Police Scotland took action to protect vulnerable people and targeted the drugs dealers who exploit them as part of national county lines intensification drive.

Chief Superintendent Dave Ferry, Police Scotland’s Head of Organised Crime, said: “Organised criminals don’t care about the people in our communities, they only care about power and money.

“They exploit vulnerable people, they groom and threaten them to become involved in their activities.

“This is simply not welcome or tolerated in Scotland.

“Over the week we worked in partnership with national organisations, including the Serious Organised Crime Taskforce, to crack down on those involved in County Lines activity.”

A new online resource was launched on Monday for free use in schools across Scotland raises awareness of child exploitation.

Coinciding with National Child Exploitation Awareness Day, it is aimed at young people from S1 upwards.

It was developed by Renfrewshire-based charity, I Am Me Scotland and Police Scotland, in collaboration with young people.