SANTO DOMINGO, Sep 06, 2010 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- A non-government organization (NGO) in the Dominican Republic Monday denounced the use of children for "express" drug selling in the Caribbean country.

Leopoldo Diaz, director of the anti-drug NGO Hogares Crea, said drug trafficking networks in the Dominican Republic use children between 8 and 12 years old for their daily operations.

"The regrettable thing is that more of these minors end up being (drug) consumers," Diaz said. "At the addiction center of Hogares Crea, there are children of even 8 years old who are cocaine, marihuana and crack consumers, who became addicts when they were used as micro drug trafficking deliverers in the main cities of the Dominican Republic," he said.

Statistics show a considerable increase in the consumption of heroine, which has become as popular as cocaine, Diaz said.

"This is a very regrettable situation, if we add that the children are involved in the trafficking of these prohibited substances," the NGO director said.

According to the Children's Code in the Dominican Republic, minors who break the law are usually treated with a lot of leniency. In grave cases such as murder, minors can be sentenced to just five years in jail.

The leniency of the laws towards children has prompted drug traffickers to use them frequently in their illegal activities, as they are more easily released from prisons after being apprehended.

source: http://behavioralhealthcentral.com