EastEnders’ Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters) is reeling from the discovery Ben Mitchell (Max Bowden) is involved with a people trafficking ring and is forcing him to turn a blind eye and keep the truth from patriarch Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) as he continues his secret agenda to destroy his dad.

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As Keanu arrived at a shabby lorry park Friday 12thApril to meet the contact for a dodgy goods delivery job he had agreed to do for the Mitchells, the moral mechanic was mortified to discover the ‘cargo’ being transported was actually people being smuggled illegally into the country.

Shocked at the true nature of the job he refused to be a part of it, only for bolshy Ben to arrive and demand Keanu play along and just take the money they need to pay off gangster Danny Hardcastle (Paul Usher).

Using emotional blackmail, Ben reckoned Phil didn’t need to be aware exactly what was being transported and warned if Keanu blew the whistle on the unethical goings-on it would threaten the Mitchell family’s safety, pricking the Taylor totty’s conscience as he deals with his conflicted feelings for teenager Louise Mitchell (Tilly Keeper) and her stepmum, and ex-lover, Sharon Mitchell (Letitia Dean).

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Will Keanu expose Ben's people trafficking to Phil?

Keanu reluctantly agreed but was clearly uncomfortable with the situation, and was stunned at how Ben’s mercenary streak had grown since he returned to Walford in the guise of recast Bowden, who’s take on the character was promised by show boss Kate Oates to be significantly darker – and it doesn’t get much darker than human trafficking… How long can Keanu keep shtum, and what will the repercussions be for the Mitchells in what could be their dodgiest deal yet?

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Coincidentally, Coronation Street is about to embark on a storyline about trafficking and modern slavery when Seb Franklin starts dating an eastern European nail-bar worker named Alina who has been brought to the UK as part of an illegal exploitation ring. The teenager will be drawn into the murky criminal world as he tries to expose the wrongdoing putting himself, and other Corrie residents, in danger.

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