Schoolboy exploited to sell drugs after being preyed on in games arcade

A dealer is behind bars for exploiting a schoolboy to sell drugs for him in one of the first convictions of its kind in Scotland.

Matteullah Siddiqi preyed on the 14-year-old, having initially met him at a games arcade in Glasgow last year.

The child was forced to skip school and stay in dirty drug dens.

He was only rescued when teachers became concerned, and he admitted what he had been doing.

Siddiqi, 20, now faces a prison term after he admitted to a charge under the Human Trafficking and Exploitation Act.

He will be sentenced next month.

Siddiqi met the boy at the arcade in Glasgow’s St Enoch Centre during the school summer holidays in 2025.

Siddiqi asked if he “wanted to start making money”.

The boy initially refused as he believed the dealer was talking about drugs.

The High Court in Glasgow heard Siddiqi eventually “persuaded” the child about the “benefits” of teaming up with him, including earning cash to “help his mother”.

The youngster was given Siddiqi’s Instagram account and later a mobile phone.

The boy lied to his mum that he had a “summer holiday camp” to go to after Siddiqi messaged him.

In mid-July, the teenager was taken to a known drug den in Glasgow.

He ended up staying there for a number of days – the boy was shown how to “bag up” crack cocaine.

Prosecutor Jennifer Nicholson-White said: “Siddiqi would attend the flat for only a couple of hours each day due to having an electronic tag. He would give the boy £20 to buy food.”

The child was then taken by taxi to a dirty, rubbish-strewn property in Paisley.

He was told to hand out “testers” to local addicts – effectively small samples of cocaine.

The boy ended up staying at the flat for the rest of the week.

Ms Nicholson-White said: “The child handed out about 60 testers and, consequently, had about the same number of phone numbers of drug users.

“He estimated Siddiqi made about £700 each day in sales.”

The youngster came back home around July 21.

The teenager’s mum was shocked to find him smelling “terrible” as if he had not washed for days.

But, he continued to “work” for Siddiqi, splitting his time between the property in Paisley and the family home.

After the summer break, the boy was then told to travel to Ayr to dish out “testers” to addicts there.

Ms Nicholson-White said: “The child’s school attendance deteriorated, and he was not there at all between September 1 and 12, 2025.”

It was around that time that teachers became concerned and got in contact with his mum.

The boy later told them at a meeting that he had not been to school, as he had been playing football on his own in a park.

Train tickets for journeys to Ayr were then found on his phone.

The boy asked his mum to leave the room before confessing that he had been delivering “heavy drugs” given to him by a 19-year-old male at a flat in Glasgow’s east end.

The mum was “distraught” on being told the truth.

The court heard the child was referred to the Home Office National Referral Mechanism, and it was concluded he had been a “victim of exploitation”.

Siddiqi was spotted by police in the city’s Castlemilk on September 19 – he was clutching two phones and seemed “nervous”.

He then tried to run off from officers but was caught. One constable was badly hurt during a struggle, suffering shoulder ligament damage.

Siddiqi complained that he had also been “exploited”.

Police seized almost £3,000 of heroin from him, which had fallen out of his jacket during the tussle with police.

A number of offenders have been convicted under the Human Trafficking Act, but this case is thought to be one of the first involving a child being exploited to deal class A drugs for financial gain.

Siddiqi also admitted in court to being concerned in the supply of heroin and cocaine as well as the aggravated assault of the police officer.

A not guilty plea to preying on another teenage boy to sell drugs was accepted by prosecutors.

Callum Hiller, defending, said Siddiqi came from a good background and that others had also been “pressuring” him.

Lord Scott continued his remand in custody as sentencing was deferred for reports.