A NEW campaign has been launched by Thames Valley Police to warn people of the ‘True Costs’ of using cocaine.

The force hopes the campaign will inform and educate people about the wider effect of using the Class A drug.

It says the UK is one of the biggest consumers of cocaine in Europe and in 2018/19 it was the most commonly seized Class A drug across Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire.

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Now officers are warning that the effects of the drug market are significant and far-reaching, with child exploitation one of the main costs.

They have warned that children as young as seven are being groomed into the world of drugs.

The issue has been highlighted in Channel 4’s Dispatches, which worked with the force on the documentary that aired earlier this year.

Children face violence and sexual assault when they are forced to move cocaine and other drugs.

In the Thames Valley the force says it has dealt with children as young as 12.

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It says the exploitation starts with children being involved in situations that they benefit from like receiving food, accommodation, drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, gifts and money as a result of them completing a task.

The ‘reward’ is then used to coerce activities, which can end up being criminal.

In the next few months Thames Valley Police will be running the True Costs campaign to reduce the number of people taking cocaine and hit the markets which exploit children.

This week three advertising vans have been travelling around the Thames Valley displaying messages and data about casual cocaine use and its links to child exploitation.

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One of the vans says ‘You might not know the true cost of using cocaine. We do. It’s Children’s lives.’

Another says ‘Where’s the little harm in doing cocaine? Child exploitation’.

The force spokesperson explained: “We hope that by informing the public conversation about the true costs of choosing to buy and consume cocaine, some people may choose not to do so.”

If you think a child could be the victim of child drug exploitation or a person or property which raises suspicion, call the non-emergency Thames Valley Police number on 101.