Special Issue of International Criminology: ‘Misleading the World? Reassessing the International Impact of the British Modern Slavery Agenda: Vietnam

Abstract Vietnamese nationals feature conspicuously in the British narrative of modern slavery. In 2019, 39 Vietnamese nationals tragically died in a refrigerated lorry in Kent, in a case which shocked both countries (Barnes T (2019) Essex lorry deaths: concerns ‘snakehead’ smuggling gangs could be behind 39 found dead in trailer. The Independent Newspaper. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/ essex-lorry-deaths-latest-snakehead-chinese-gang-human-trafficking-people-smuggling-a9171 066.html. {Accessed 18/04/2024}. Yet, in early 2024, Vietnamese nationals are currently the most likely migrants to reach the United Kingdom via small boats. This article—based on ongoing legal work and research carried out in both Vietnam and the United Kingdom—will explore the history of irregular migration from Vietnam and its specific connections to illegal drug cultivation. It will evaluate the impact of key domestic initiatives such as the National Referral Mechanism and the Modern Slavery Act 2015 https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/30/section/45 {Accessed 14/09/2024} as well as most recent anti-trafficking campaigns in the United Kingdom and Vietnam. It argues that the losses of life in a refrigerated lorry in Essex and the continuing migrations are as much a product of prohibitionist drug policies as contradictory immigration and human trafficking messaging.