Cardinal Vincent Nichols: Young Africans are being tricked into coming to England, becoming sex slaves

LONDON, Dec. 6 (UPI) -- Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the Archbishop of Westminster, said at the Santa Marta Group conference young Africans are being tricked into moving to England and are then trafficked into slavery.

Nichols listed more than one way African youth are tricked into coming to the country. "There are schools for football excellence which get youngsters in and promise them a career in the Premier League, and as soon as they get to England they are enslaved," he said.

"Often, people are trafficked at a young age believing that they are entering a better world, when in reality they are entering a far worse world from which they cannot escape," said Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe.

The Santa Marta Group is a conference organized by the Vatican to come up with ideas on how to combat human trafficking, and it consists of religious leaders, police officials and government officials. This was the second meeting of the group.

"Human trafficking is an open wound on the body of contemporary society, a scourge upon the body of Christ," Pope Francis said in April. "It is a crime against humanity."

It is estimated roughly 13,000 people have been trafficked into prostitution, domestic work and other trades in the UK.

Estimates say 80 percent of trafficked individuals are female, and 70 percent of them are put into prostitution.