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During the summer holidays of 2025, Siddiqi encountered a young boy at Glasgow’s St Enoch Centre and inquired if he was interested in “starting to make money.” Initially, the boy declined, assuming Siddiqi was referring to drug dealing. However, the High Court in Glasgow was told that Siddiqi eventually convinced the child to join him by suggesting the money earned could support the boy’s mother.
The boy was provided with Siddiqi’s Instagram details and later received a mobile phone. When Siddiqi contacted him, the boy told his mother he was attending a “summer holiday camp.” In mid-July, the teenager was taken to a known drug den in Glasgow where he was shown how to package crack cocaine. According to Prosecutor Jennifer Nicholson-White, Siddiqi would only be at the flat for a few hours each day due to wearing an electronic tag, and during those visits, he gave the child £20 to buy food.
Following this, the boy was transported by taxi to a run-down property in Paisley, Renfrewshire, where he was instructed to distribute “testers” — small samples of cocaine — to local drug users. He stayed at this flat for the remainder of the week, handing out around 60 testers and receiving contact numbers of drug addicts. The prosecutor estimated that Siddiqi earned approximately £700 daily from these transactions.
The boy’s mother was devastated once she learned the truth, the court was told. The child was referred to the Home Office National Referral Mechanism and was identified as a “victim of exploitation.” Siddiqi was later spotted by police on 19 September in Glasgow’s Castlemilk area, where he appeared “nervous” and was carrying two phones. Attempting to flee, he was apprehended after a struggle in which an officer sustained serious shoulder ligament damage. Police recovered nearly £3,000 worth of heroin that fell from Siddiqi’s jacket during the altercation.
Siddiqi claimed to have been “exploited” himself. Although several offenders have been convicted under the Human Trafficking Act, this case is believed to be among the first involving a child exploited to deal Class A drugs for financial gain. Siddiqi admitted in court to involvement in the supply of heroin and cocaine and to the aggravated assault on the police officer. However, prosecutors accepted a not guilty plea regarding the allegation of pressuring another teenage boy to sell drugs.
Defence lawyer Callum Hiller remarked that Siddiqi came from a respectable background and faced pressure from others. Sentencing was postponed as Lord Scott ordered further reports while continuing Siddiqi’s custody remand
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