Stranded in a strange place, plucked from safety, child refugees are falling prey to Manchester's Counterfeit Street gangs

Child refugees have been put to work on Manchester's infamous 'Counterfeit Street' having been recruited by criminals, police revealed as another five shops were raided and shut in the notorious hooky gear hotspot.

In a sinister development, it was revealed some of the 33 organised crime gangs linked to the district have groomed children - who came to the country as asylum seekers - and put them to work in shops and in county lines drugs enterprises.

The vulnerable youngsters have been placed in a dangerous environment, in which gangs work with each other to supply fake clothing, perfume and illicit prescription drugs - but have also turned on each other triggering violence. Operation Vulcan - launched in late October by GMP to stamp out hooky businesses on Bury New Road near the city centre - is uncovering back the sheer depth of the criminality associated with them.

READ MORE: The face of Manchester's notorious crime street is changing

Detective Superintendent Neil Blackwood, leading Operation Vulcan, told the Manchester Evening News: "Greater Manchester Police has current, ongoing investigations regarding children and young people who have travelled unaccompanied and recently arrived in this country. These children have then been housed in a social care setting [although typically not a hotel].

"Some of these children are then falling prey to criminal gangs, who are using a county lines model to exploit them. Modern slavery legislation is being used across GMP to tackle such exploitation by older criminals targeting this type of victim."

Asked what kind of work the children were doing, he said: "From what we are seeing - and from the intelligence GMP receives - the children and young people are largely being put to