Expert Evidence, Hearsay and Victims of Trafficking
| Author | Tony Ward,Sean Mennim |
| Published date | 01 December 2021 |
| Date | 01 December 2021 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/00220183211050226 |
| Subject Matter | Case Notes |
Expert Evidence, Hearsay and
Victims of Trafficking
R v Brecani [2021] EWCA Crim 731
Sean Mennim
Northumbria Law School, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
To n y Wa r d
Northumbria Law School, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
Abstract
Case commentary of the Court of Appeal ruling in R v Brecani [2021] EWCA Crim 731.
Keywords
Defences, expert evidence, hearsay, human trafficking, severance.
On 26 March 2020, the appellant (‘B’), aged 17, was one of 14 defendants convicted of conspiracy to
supply cocaine and was sentenced to three years’imprisonment. The trial concerned the activities of
an organised crime group which, over the course of about six months between February and August
2019, was involved in the supply of over £660,000 worth of cocaine in Southend, Essex.
B relied upon the two limb statutory defence under the Modern Slavery Act (MSA) 2015, s 45(4),
contending that: (i) he was a child who had been trafficked from Albania and that his involvement in
a conspiracy to supply cocaine was a direct consequence of his having been a victim of slavery or relevant
exploitation; and that a reasonable person in the same situation as he was and having his relevant char-
acteristics would have acted as he did.
The Court rejected the appellant’s application to sever his case off from the trial of the other defendants
while he awaited the Conclusive Grounds Decision (CG decision) of the Single Competent Authority
(SCA).
On 03 March 2020,a CG decision was reached by the SCA which,despite a number of inconsistenciesin
his account,found forced criminalityin Albania and in the UK had occurredbetween 2016 and 2019 andthat
he was a victim ofmodern slavery. He had been recruitedin Albania and transported tothe UK during 2019
for the specific purpose of forced criminality. He was kept in houses in both Birmingham and Southend/
Dartford. It was also accepted that he was forced into criminality against his will and was not paid.
In his evidence at trial, B explained that whilst he was attending school in Albania he had been first
groomed and then coerced by two young males, who had initially offered him cannabis and then
Corresponding author:
Tony Ward, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8ST, UK.
Email: tony.ward@northumbria.ac.uk
Case Note
The Journal of Criminal Law
2021, Vol. 85(6) 471–476
© The Author(s) 2021
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/00220183211050226
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