Sosa Henkoma was 8 when he ran away from v*olence at home. At 9 he was groomed by a gang in the UK, drawn into dr*g traff*cking while feeling abandoned in foster care. He recounts the moment he had a shotg*n pointed to his head at 11 during a raid. On this 12th birthday, just released from the hospital after being st*bbed, we has given his own shotg*n, and a bulletproof vest. Trapped in a life of crime for the next decade, he ran g*ns and dr*gs between London and Liverpool, becoming known as “The Devil Walking on Earth”. Sosa says said he counts himself lucky to still be alive after he was st*bbed at least 11 times and shot at twice. It was only after Sosa was convicted and imprisoned that authorities deemed him to be a victim. He describes how fatherhood, therapy and sheer luck saved him. Find Sosa on social media: www.instagram.com/sosa_est www.instagram.com/escaperoutes_uk/ https://linktr.ee/sosa_est We want to meet you in real life! Come adventure with us on our 2nd C2C VACATION! Click here to go to the official booking page: https://trovatrip.com/trip/north-america/mexico/mexico-with-shelise-sola-oct-2025 Subscribe to our C2C "CLIPS" Channel! https://www.youtube.com/@CultstoConsciousnessClips Support C2C - Any donations are welcome and appreciated to support the making of this podcast. Find our FULL (uncensored) merch store here! https://cults-to-consciousness-shop.fourthwall.com/en-usd Patreon https://www.patreon.com/cultstoconsciousness Venmo @sheliseann Find us on Social media! Instagram @cultstoconsciousness https://www.instagram.com/cultstoconsciousness Host Instagram @sheliseann https://www.instagram.com/sheliseann/ Co Producer / Host @jonathan.rosales_ https://www.instagram.com/jonathan.rosales_ TikTok @cults.to.consciousness https://www.tiktok.com/@cults.to.consciousness Twitter @cultstocon https://twitter.com/cultstocon Chapter Marks 00:04:45 Sosa's early years in Nigeria 00:05:51 Sosa moved to the UK at 8 to live with his father (was still not able to know him) 00:08:22 CW: CA - Sosa's stepmom became abus*ve 00:12:27 The events that led to Sosa leaving the abus*ve household 00:17:54 What it was like in UK foster care 00:19:52 How Sosa learned about gang culture 00:24:12 Sosa was useful for his bike 00:26:25 Meeting the elders 00:29:23 Hierarchy and dr*g business within a gang, explained 00:34:16 11 year old Sosa didn't know that he was helping sell dr*gs 00:35:27 Sosa explains what "banking" meant (not what you think) 00:39:17 11 year old Sosa gets raided by a rival gang 00:40:23 Sosa gets a sh*tg*n pointed at his face at 11 y.o. 00:44:42 Sosa starts year 7 at school, while having to watch out for his life 00:49:49 Sosa learns to shoot a g*n 00:53:21 CW: Gang related injuries at 12 00:54:57 The trauma of being in a gang; disassociation 00:58:19 CW: The worst of what Sosa saw and experienced 01:01:54 Sosa gets nick named at 16, The Devil Walking on Earth 01:03:25 Sosa was sentenced at 13 years old 01:04:01 When Sosa got out of prison at 16, he went to war with the elders 01:07:45 Sosa was set up to go to prison again 01:08:57 Sosa faced being deported 01:09:53 Sosa learns he was groomed, and is dealing with trauma 01:14:14 The residual trauma Sosa deals with now 01:15:21 What do those still in the gang think of Sosa speaking out? 01:19:31 Sosa's advocacy work 01:23:15 Linda, listen Theme Song Produced and Composed by Christian Guevara **Disclaimer: Thanks for joining us at Cults to Consciousness. This storytelling podcast is meant to be for entertainment purposes only and does not substitute for medical advice. We may discuss triggering topics and we ask that you make your personal mental health a priority. Lastly, the opinions of our guests do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the host.**