THE PSNI said it was investigating claims that a number of east African children had been found in Belfast in recent weeks, having travelled to Northern Ireland unaccompanied.
Police said they were liaising with the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust in relation to the individuals, who have said they are teenagers.
Believed to be from Eritrea, they were found in the Belfast Harbour area on different occasions in recent weeks, with some claiming they had travelled to Northern Ireland in a shipping container.
The PSNI said the group were now currently being cared for.
A PSNI spokesman said: "We are liaising with the relevant heath trust to understand the circumstances around a number of unaccompanied children who have been taken into the care of social services.
"Our first priority is the safety and wellbeing of the children involved."
