Dolor, Vernel

Records show that Vernel Dolor’s early life was marked by instability and safeguarding concerns, and that he experienced physical abuse. He was known to social services. 

In June 2010, Mr Dolor, then aged 17, pleaded guilty at Thames’ Magistrates’ Court to two counts of possession of Class A drugs with intent to supply. He received a 12-month supervision order, a six-month curfew order, and was required to pay prosecution costs of £300. 

In the context of immigration proceedings, Mr Dolor was referred into the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) as an adult on the basis of concerns that as a child and young person he had been subjected to criminal exploitation linked to gang activity in London. The NRM is a framework designed to identify victims of human trafficking and modern slavery.  

In the account provided in this referral, Mr Dolor described being drawn into criminal activity at a young age by older boys associated with a gang who had approached him and asked him to hold and transport drugs. He was moved around different areas to do so and felt unable to refuse due to fear and pressure.  

In January 2022, the Single Competent Authority (SCA) issued a positive Conclusive Grounds Decision that, on the balance of probabilities, Mr Dolor had been a victim of modern slavery in the form of criminal exploitation.  

The decision found that he had been recruited and transported by older members of a gang for the purposes of forced criminality, including drug-related activity, during his adolescence. 

As Mr Dolor had pleaded guilty in the magistrates’ court, he had no right to appeal directly. The CCRC received an application for review of his conviction and sentence in December 2024.  

A review found that there was a real possibility the conviction would not be upheld by the Crown Court. This decision was based on a review of material from the initial investigation and subsequent public body material.  

The CCRC concluded that Mr Dolor should have been identified as a credible victim of human trafficking and modern slavery and that as such, there was a real possibility that the Crown Court would find that his prosecution amounted to an abuse of process. 

The CCRC referred the conviction in September 2026.