Vice in Scotland
The Daily Record

On February 9, 2004, the Daily Record began an expose of Scotland's £200 million sex industry. 

Note:  Detectives from Strathclyde Police's Serious Crime Squad informed journalists from the Daily Record and Sunday Mail that they had received intelligence about death threats made to journalists at the two newspapers. The threats were understood to have been made by a "criminal clan" in Glasgow and were made in response to Sunday Mail's "Crime Inc" campaign and the "Vice in Scotland" series published in the Daily Mail. Two years earlier a contract had been taken out by the same criminal group against a Daily Record journalist.

February 9, 2004
£200M secret sex empire
5000 vice girls line pockets of Scotland's crime bosses
According to this article:

There are at least 5000 prostitutes working Scottish streets, saunas, and flats or advertised on the internet. Drug barons and organized criminals reap the primary profits.

97% of the prostitutes are drug addicted. Traffickers are targeting Scotland. Strathclyde police chief Graeme Pearson said they were cracking down on the sex industry. 

Burns, Janice. "£200m secret sex empire" The Daily Record 9 Feb 2004. 
<http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/content_objectid=
13930026_method=full_siteid=89488_headline=-
VICE-IN-SCOTLAND---pound-200M-SECRET-SEX-EMPIRE-
name_page.html>

February 9, 2004
£1200-a-night Russian's bid to flee to Scotland
According to this article:

24 year old "Lexi is a £1200-a-night Russian call girl who intends to move to Scotland.  Lexi allegedly works for the London escort agency Agency Provocateur and is among the many prostitutes trying to escape the Russian mafia which tightly controls the London sex industry. She is trying to obtain a two year student visa through participation in an English language course.

Lexi and another woman working for Agency Provocateur intend to purchase flats in Edinburgh and Glasgow. They want to help bring other girls from Russia to Scotland. They are hoping they will not be followed by the mafia into Scotland due to their belief that the mafia have no real contacts there.

Caldwell, Allan. "£1200-A-NIGHT RUSSIAN'S BID TO FLEE TO SCOTLAND" Daily Record  9 Feb 2004. <http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/content_objectid=
13930029 _method=full_siteid=89488_headline=-
VICE-IN-SCOTLAND---pound-1200-A-NIGHT-RUSSIAN-S-
BID-TO-FLEE-TO-SCOTLAND -name_page.html>

February 9, 2004
5000 Scots women are selling sex
An industry backed by vicious drug gangs
As part of the "Vice in Scotland" series, the Daily Record looked into a report by the Lothian and Borders Police.
According to this article:

Scot PEP confirm that over 5000 prostitutes may now be working in Scotland. Scotland's vice industry is being targeted by organized crime networks involved in money laundering, violence and drugs.

Police and politicians say the vice industry is "spiralling out of control". The Scottish Parliament has appointed an expert group to probe vice in Scotland. The first year will focus on street prostitution, the second year on saunas and flats and the third year on male prostitution. Red-light tolerance zones have been proposed by Independent MSP Margo McDonald.

Lothian and Borders police have compiled a report on brothels. It concludes that many saunas and flats are operated by criminals. Profits are estimated to be at least £10 million a year. The report recommends setting up a vice squad modeled on the one in London.

• Glasgow:
  • approx. 1400 street prostitutes
  • 300 in saunas and private flats. 
• Edinburgh:
  • approx. 1000 prostitutes
  • estimated 150 street prostitutes
  • criminal gangs selling crack cocaine
• Dundee:
  • approx. 70 street prostitutes
  • child prostitution ring. 
• Aberdeen:
  • approx. 300 street prostitutes. 
• Internet sites, newspapers and "contact magazines" are used to advertise hundreds more Scottish prostitutes - 97% of them are heroin addicts.

Quotes:
''The sex industry is a multi-million pound business. ''It would not be unrealistic to say the sex trade in Scotland is worth £200 million a year. I would not be shocked by that... Most of these brothels are largely being run by organised criminals... We are clamping down on the entire sex trade in Scotland.''

''The message I have for criminals in this trade is we will be chapping their door. ''Our job is made difficult because it is such a secretive industry. The clients are not going to expose these brothels, the women rarely come forward because they are too frightened and those who organise them are certainly not going to co-operate. ''I applaud the Record for exposing this because it helps to open out the issue and it encourages those people who know something about it to come forward and tell us. ''There are a number of saunas and private flats being run as brothels by organised criminals. ''We want to hit them where it hurts and strip them of their assets. The fact their profits are proceeds of crime gives us a way of seizing that profit.''
~Graeme Pearson, Strathclyde assistant chief constable.

''Men who buy sex are aiding and abetting the abuse of women and financing the criminal underworld... We are very concerned about the intrusion of crack cocaine into Edinburgh on the back of the sex industry so we are running a special operation to target crack cocaine called Operation Neon.. The sex industry is dangerous, volatile and vulnerable to organised crime... Of all segments of the sex industry I am most worried about the private flats because I know least about them.'' 
~ Tom Woods, Lothian and Borders deputy chief constable.

''Outside London, Glasgow is now the vice capital of the UK because of its links between organised criminals. ''The market is expanding daily. It is out of our control and there does not seem to be a saturation point. ''There used to be 16 officers working on vice, now we only have four officers looking after street hookers.'' 
~ unnamed police "insider".

Burns, Janice.  "5000 Scots women are selling sex" The Daily Record9 Feb 2004.  <http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/content_objectid=
13930028_method=full_siteid=89488_headline=-VICE-
IN-SCOTLAND--5000-SCOTS-WOMEN-ARE-SELLING-SEX
-name_page.html

February 9, 2004
Addicted to high-class call girls
The punter
According to this article:

"Joe" is  a 54 year old "punter" who is "addicted to high-class" prostitutes. Joe has been "happily" married for 35 years and works as a financial advisor. Joe describes his experiences with prostitutes and expresses his attitude about them.

Burns, Janice. "Addicted to High-Class Call Girls" The Daily Record9 Feb 2004.  <http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/news/page.cfm?objectid=
13930039&method=full&siteid=89488

February 9, 2004
Cheryl will get you a different girl every day
The Flats
As part of the "Vice in Scotland" series, the Daily Record went undercover to study a brothel operating out of a "normal" flat in Glasgow.
According to this article:

They contacted the owner "Cheryl" by phone and were offered a choice of girls aged 20 to 45; a different one on duty every day. Massages were offered at £10, full sex at £50 and an "unnatural sex act" for £80.  The reporter describes his brief visit to the brothel.

Mcleod, Keith. "Cheryl will get you a different girl every day" The Daily Record 9 Feb 2004.  <http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/news/page.cfm?objectid=
13930035&method=full&siteid=89488

February 9, 2004
Confessions of a sauna boss
As part of the "Vice in Scotland" series, an undercover investigative reporter for the Daily Record spoke to George Colahan of the Aquarius brothel in Glasgow.
According to this article:

Colahan is listed as a director of Aquarius Health Club Ltd, which folded in 2000, but is still the licence holder for the brothel. The Aquarius is owned by Lee Koon Man, aka "Tony Lee" who has been linked to the Chinese Triad gang "Wo Sing Wo". Lee is believed to be trafficking Thai girls into Scotland. Lee travels regularly to Belfast and Amsterdam. His girlfriend, Lucy Nicholson, is the other listed director of the Aquarius brothel. Colahan denied using foreign girls and blamed another Chinese gangster, "Dominic Woo". The undercover reporter visited Aquarius and described the experience. He paid a £15 entrance fee and was offered full sex for £50.

Quotes:
''I'm just a quiet guy who keeps his nose clean. I don't really get on with Dominic Woo. He's an arrogant guy. ''He used to have two saunas near me but they were getting shut down. ''He was taking in foreign girls from places like Thailand and ended up getting caught out. ''We have a policy here that we don't take any Thai girls, just Scots. ''That way we don't get any hassle from the people associated with these girls. We used to get Albanians and other asylum seekers but we never take them. They are too much trouble. ''I don't want any foreigners working for me. Word gets about that you don't take them on. ''After a wee while, they get the message and stop coming. What was happening is the Albanians would just turn up at the place after being dropped off by a man. But you don't know what they are into or who is behind them. They're trouble.

'Dominic Woo is one of these guys who wanted to be a figure in the underworld. ''He was selling fags and was involved with bringing in Thai girls. ''Last I heard he was back at the Venus running things there with his wife.''  ~George Colahan

Mcleod, Keith, Caldwell, Allan, Ventura, Steven. "Confessions of a sauna boss" The Daily Record 9 Feb 2004.  <http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/content_objectid=13930032
_method=full_siteid=89488_headline=-VICE-IN-SCOTLAND--
CONFESSIONS-OF-A-SAUNA-BOSS-name_page.html

February 9, 2004
Comein the back so you don't frighten the neighbours
The brothel
As part of the "Vice in Scotland" series, an undercover reporter visited a brothel near George Watson's College, a private school in Edinburgh. The phone number was obtained through a local newspaper ad offering "massage". He was instructed not to use the front door. His experience is described in this article.

Quote:
''We get all sorts in here. If it wasn't for married men, I would be out of a job.'  ~prostitute at brothel investigated for this article.

"Come in the back so you don't frighten the neighbors" The Daily Record  9 Feb 2004 <http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/news/page.cfm?objectid=
13930033&method=full&siteid=89488

February 9, 2004
Crime link to almost every city parlour
As part of the "Vice in Scotland" series, the Daily Record looked into a report regarding Edinburgh's vice industry. 
According to this article:

The report was commissioned in September 2002 by Lothian and Borders Deputy chief constable Tom Wood. It was apparently written by one detective and its findings were a result of his sole undercover work and surveillance. The report found that almost every one of 19 licensed saunas in Edinburgh had criminal links and prostitutes were operating from at least 20 flats.

The report attempted to find out the consequences after the abolishment of the  Leith "tolerance zone". It concluded that a vice squad needed to be set up and that "criminals should be driven out of the lucrative trade to allow legitimate businesses to offer the same services legally."

An unnamed police contact said that prominent professionals were seen visiting the prostitutes. There was apparently a concern that without regulation,  the criminal owners of the saunas could put these people "under some kind of pressure thereafter".

Deputy chief constable Wood expressed his opinion that prostitution could not be eradicated and therefore should be regulated and policed. He allegedly refused to show the report to the Daily Record.

Rafferty, Stephen. "Crime link to almost every city parlour" The Daily Record  9 Feb 2004.  <http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/content_objectid=13930030
_method=full_siteid=89488_headline=-VICE-IN-SCOTLAND--
CRIME-LINK-TO-ALMOST-EVERY-CITY-PARLOUR-name_page.html>

February 9, 2004
Hookers are my hobby
According to this article:
A 27 year old man, Richard visits prostitutes three times a week. He lives with his parents, is over-weight, has struggled to get a girlfriend and sees nothing wrong with paying for sex. He believes that a controlled environment can be "safe and civilised for all parties involved". Richard describes his experiences at massage parlours.

Moncur, James. "Hookers are my hobby" The Daily Record 9 Feb 2004. <http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/content_objectid=
13930040_method=full_siteid=89488_headline=-VICE-IN-SCOTLAND
--HOOKERS-ARE-MY-HOBBY-name_page.html>

February 9, 2004
How we bought a Ferrari for £150

As part of the "Vice in Scotland" series, this article looks into the use of the internet for advertising prostitution. Various website ads are quoted, including the rates charged and descriptions of the women.
According to this article:

Andy Kennell, aka "Andy Monks" owns one website and earns approximately £400,000 annually. He charges girls to advertise and charges punters to download sex photos. One section of his site is a discussion board where clients "rate" the escort girls. A former call girl described him as a "sleazy little man who is making an absolute fortune". The women are also advertised via tabloid newspapers.

A Daily Record reporter posed as a client and contacted Ferrari, a 19 year old "high-class call girl" through her internet ad. She is based in Stirling, charges £150 per hour and £700 overnight. Ferrari travels to Glasgow and Edinburgh for overnights or one-hour hotel encounters. She met the undercover reporter at a Glasgow hotel and offered sexual intercourse and other sex acts. She explained that she does not have a pimp and all the money she earns is her own.

Mcleod, Keith "How we bought a Ferrari for £150" The Daily Record. 9 Feb 2004. <http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/news/page.cfm?objectid
=13930036&method=full&siteid=89488>

February 9, 2004
I'll never work on the city streets
The call girl
As part of the "Vice in Scotland" series, a Daily Record reporter answered an internet ad for a 32 year old call girl, "Cypress Peace".
According to this article:

Cypress is originally from Los Angeles and is now married to a Glaswegian, who "kind of acts" as her "minder". The reporter met Cypress at a hotel in Glasgow. This article describes his experience.

Mcleod, Keith.  "I'll never work on the city streets" The Daily Record 9 Feb 2004.  <http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/news/page.cfm?objectid
=13930037&method=full&siteid=89488

February 9, 2004
Perv ring preying on kids
As part of the "Vice in Scotland" series, the Daily Record looked into the situation in Dundee. 
According to this article:

Daily Record reporters were told about a child prostitution racket reportedly operating across Tayside and Central Scotland.

Laurie Matthews, head of "Eighteen and Under, a Dundee based charity said that the internet is being used to book children as sex slaves, often by their own parents.

Tayside police claimed that fewer than 10 prostitutes were working in Dundee. Detective Chief Superintendent Colin McCashey said that in September 2000 four Dundee children's homes were investigated following allegations that the children were being used for prostitution. One man was charged and five teenagers were moved to other "secure units" in Tayside.

Rafferty, Stephen. "Perv ring preying on kids " The Daily Record 9 Feb 2004 <http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/content_objectid=
13930027_method=full_siteid=89488_headline=-VICE-IN-
SCOTLAND--PERV-RING-PREYING-ON-KIDS-name_page.html >

February 9, 2004
Punters pay to be punished
As part of the "Vice in Scotland" series, the Daily Record investigated "Kareen's brothel", a "sex dungeon" in Edinburgh.
According to this article:
The brothel offers cages, medieval stocks, and its upper floors are dedicated to "painful sex games". Rooms include a medical suite, a schoolroom and a dungeon. The dungeon contains a six-foot wooden crucifix with attached straps. Three prostitutes are on duty daily.

Mathieson, Jack.  "Punters pay to be punished"  The Daily Record  9 Feb 2004.  <http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/news/page.cfm?objectid=
13930031&method=full&siteid=89488>

February 9, 2004
Sex for sale in a suburban street
As part of the "Vice in Scotland" series, an undercover reporter from the Daily Record visited the "Bubbles" brothel / sauna in Giffnock, near Glasgow.
According to this article:

Bubbles has been operating for 12 years under a council entertainment licence. Police claim few complaints have been made about the brothel. The investigator also visited "Venus" in Glasgow where he encountered Dominic Woo, a high level member of a Chinese Triad who had fled to Hong Kong after a previous police raid.

Caldwell, Allan. "Sex for sale in a suburban street" The Daily Record 9 Feb 2004.  <http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/content_objectid=
13930034_method=full_siteid=89488_headline=-
VICE-IN-SCOTLAND--SEX-FOR-SALE-IN-A-SUBURBAN-
STREET-name_page.html >

February 9, 2004
Tears rolled down my face as I turned my first trick
Body on the Streets
As part of the "Vice in Scotland" series, the Daily Record interviewed "Julie" a 20 year old prostitute in Glasgow.
According to this article:


Julie began selling sex as a 16 year old runaway and heroin addict. She first smoked heroin with her mother at the age of 14, prior to being taken into foster care. Julie worked as a street prostitute until she was offered a job in one of Glasgow's massage parlours. She now lives in a luxury flat and has a boyfriend who does not know about her sex work. Julie wants to get out of the business but does not see how she can.

Page, Cara. "Tears rolled down my face as I turned my first trick" The Daily Record 9 Feb 2004 <http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/content_objectid=13930038
_method=full_siteid=89488_headline=-VICE-IN-SCOTLAND--
TEARS-ROLLED-DOWN-MY-FACE-AS-I-TURNED-MY-FIRST-TRICK
-name_page.html >

February 10, 2004
30 years.. and all I've got is arthritis
As part of the "Vice in Scotland" series, the Daily Record sent an undercover reporter to visit "Hannah", a 50 year old prostitute. According to this article:

Hannah worked the streets for 30 years and now works out of her flat. She began selling sex at 21. She was pregnant, just out of an abusive relationship and needed money for an abortion. Further details of her sad life are given.

Rafferty, Jean.  "30 Years.. And All I've Got Is Arthritis"  The Daily Record  10 Feb 2004.  <http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/news/page.cfm?objectid=
13933286&method=full&siteid=89488>

February 10, 2004
Crime exposes spark death threats
According to this article:

Detectives from Strathclyde Police's Serious Crime Squad informed journalists from the Daily Record and Sunday Mail that they had received intelligence about death threats made to journalists at the two newspapers. The threats were understood to have been made by a "criminal clan" in Glasgow and were made in response to Sunday Mail's "Crime Inc" campaign and the "Vice in Scotland" series published in the Daily Mail. Two years earlier a contract had been taken out by the same criminal group against a Daily Record journalist.

Further details are given regarding current violence by members of organized crime groups in Glasgow.

Quote:
"This is an extremely worrying development in Scottish journalism and a threat which all of us must take seriously. It is the job of investigative reporters to highlight areas of concern to the public and police, and they must be protected in doing their job. We cannot allow journalists to become the targets." ~spokesman for the National Union of Journalists

McDougall, Dan. "Crime exposes spark death threats" The Scotsman Feb 10, 2004 <http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=160172004>

February 10, 2004
Hookers haunt oil capital

As part of the "Vice in Scotland" series, the Daily Mail investigated the sex trade industry in Aberdeen.
According to this article:
Over 100 prostitutes work in Aberdeen, which has a "tolerance zone". In 2001, Aberdeen FC chief Gordon Bennett was caught hiring a prostitute and subsequently fired.

The link between prostitution and the drug industry is discussed. Prostitutes are used as mules to carry drugs and street girls are an easy means for dealers to distribute their goods. Most of the prostitutes are addicted to either cocaine or heroin and turn tricks for as little as £5. They work to buy drugs for themselves and for their husbands and boyfriends.

Gall, Charles. "Hookers Haunt Oil Capital" The Daily Record 10 Feb 2004. <http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/news/page.cfm?objectid=
13933284&method=full&siteid=89488 >

February 10, 2004
Louise was given £10..in a minute it was in the hands of heroin dealers
As part of the "Vice in Scotland" series, the Daily Record investigated street prostitutes in Glasgow. The reporter interviewed women and observed kerb crawling on Greendyke Street.
According to this article:
"Louise" has a £100-a-day heroin and cocaine problem and has worked as a prostitute since the age of 14. She spent 2 years in jail for assaulting a punter who attempted to rob her. After every trick, Louise immediately purchases drugs.

Louise's 21 year old sister is also a street prostitute, "watched over by her junkie boyfriend known on the streets as a "stick man". Stick men rely on the money made by their girlfriends to purchase heroin and often steal cash, phones and credit cards from the punters.

"Nichole" is a 22 year old mother of two who sells sex to buy heroin for her boyfriend and herself. She needs to make at least £100 a day for 10 bags.

"Michelle", 26, who has been a prostitute for two years, must make £150 a day to buy drugs for her boyfriend and herself. She was raped by a man when she refused to do a certain sex act.

Quotes:
''I've got warrants out for three unpaid fines of £75 each for prostitution so I can't get caught again tonight. ''I don't see the point of paying them because I've got to prostitute myself to do that so it doesn't make sense.'' ~Louise

''I had sex with a justice of the peace once who had women's underwear on. He showed me his ID and said he could sign warrants and passports. He said if I was ever up before him in court he would see me all right." ~Michelle

Page, Cara. "Louise Was Given £10..In A Minute It Was In The Hands Of Heroin Dealers" The Daily Record. 10 Feb 2004. <http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/news/page.cfm?objectid=
13933285&method=full&siteid=89488>

February 10, 2004
The vice cities

The author of this article, Daily Record reporter Jean Refferty, spent a year researching prostitution around the world. The article focuses on the debate over legalization of the sex industry. It is also an opinion piece based on Ms. Refferty's research.
According to this article:
Independent MSP Margo MacDonald introduced a "tolerance zone" bill (which was defeated) but intends to continue pressing for its adoption. In her view the situation in Edinburgh has deteriorated since the Salamander Street tolerance zones were closed in November 2001. There were 11 serious attacks on women there in 2001 and 31 in 2002.

Glasgow claims to have a zero tolerance approach to prostitution and opposed MacDonald's bill. Glasgow does, however, have a tolerance zone itself - Bothwell Street, where women are allowed to work between 8 pm and 4 am. This was set up after a series of prostitute murders took place in the 1990's.

According to a 2002 poll, 60% favored decriminalizing prostitution. In places where this has happened, the sex industry has increased tremendously with no reduction in violence or human trafficking.

Quotes:
''Legislation is never about protecting the women. ''It's about ensuring the sex industry is kept away from the rest of society, that the women are kept out of society. ''Most of the problems associated with sex work are not to do with the clients. They're to do with how society interacts.'' ~Ruth Morgan-Thomas, Scot PEP

''The real sinners here are not the women. It's the people who're making money off them, who're exploiting the women and their punters.'' ~Margo MacDonald MSP

Rafferty, Jean. "The Vice Cities - Sex tourism trail?" The Daily Record 10 Feb 2004. < http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk?objectid=13934653
&method=full&siteid=89488>

February 10, 2004
Zones won't solve issue
According to this article:

An international report has been commissioned by Glasgow City Council regarding tackling the problem of prostitution. The council intends to continue to fight against tolerance zones and insist that the target should be men who use prostitutes and efforts should be made to help the women to leave the sex industry. Deputy council leader Jim Coleman wants new legislation to target kerb-crawlers.

Quote:
''Until we shift the stigma and shame of prostitution on to those who live off women involved in prostitution and the customers, women face insurmountable barriers to leave.' ~Jim Coleman, Deputy council leader, Glasgow City Council.

"Zones Won't Solve Issue" The Daily Record 10 Feb 2004< http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/news/page.cfm?objectid=
13933290&method=full&siteid=89488>

February 11, 2004
Cops crack down on the slave trade crooks
According to this article:

A vice team, headed by Graeme Pearson, chief of the Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency, has been set up to deal with organized crime in Scotland. Chinese Triads, Eastern European and Scottish gangsters involved in the vice trade are being investigated. The team will gather intelligence and infiltrate the gangs. Lothian and Borders Police are also investigating the vice industry, including the trafficking aspect.

The National Criminal Intelligence Service and Interpol say trafficking has increased dramatically recently and that Scotland is a prime target for criminal gangs. Many trafficking victims are told they will be working in other industries.

Quotes:
"This business is repugnant and has no place in Scotland. Human trafficking is a problem we have limited intelligence on. 'We have limited evidence of a number of women who have been brought to Scotland for the purposes of the sex trade, largely from the Far East and Eastern Europe. 'The vice trade is a future threat for us. We need to put in place protection to prevent it, hence, we're gathering more intelligence in Scotland. 'Organised crime is involved in the sex industry, including trafficking. They're trafficking women and kids to be used in the sex trade." ~ Graeme Pearson.

'There are two distinct problems. The first is smuggling people into the country but worse still is the trafficking of people. 'While smugglers only have control over people in getting them into the country, the traffickers remain in control after these people arrive. 'This is true of the vice industry and other illegal activities as well. 'Major cities such as Glasgow and Edinburgh are affected by this trade. 'We also know that Scotland is also used by some traffickers to get people into the country discreetly. 'We know that Shetland has been used by traffickers in the past.' We know that this goes on out of places such as Albania and Eastern Europe and the Far East." ~NCIS spokesman

"Cops crack down on the slave trade crooks" The Daily Record 11 Feb 2004. <http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/content_objectid=13937315
_method=full_siteid=89488_headline=-VICE-IN-SCOTLAND
--COPS-CRACK-DOWN-ON-THE-SLAVE-TRADE-CROOKS-
name_page.htmldailyrecord

February 11, 2004
Jamaica to Ibrox
As part of the "Vice in Scotland" series, an undercover reporter visited a Jamaican prostitute in Glasgow. Examples are given of ads offering prostitutes from the Caribbean, Africa, Russia, and China.

"Jamaica to Ibrox" The Daily Record 11 Feb 2004 http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/content_objectid=
13937317_method=full_siteid=89488_headline=-VICE-IN
-SCOTLAND--JAMAICA-TO-IBROX-name_page.html 

February 11, 2004
My hell as a sex slave in Scotland
As part of the "Vice in Scotland" series, the Daily Record interviewed "Kim", a South Korean girl smuggled into Scotland.
According to this article:

Kim worked for 6 months in Glasgow until sent home penniless by her "masters." She was originally approached by two Englishmen at her job in a bar in a poverty-stricken region of Korea and told that they had "bought" her and were taking her to Scotland to work in a restaurant. She ended up in brothels and made about £700 a week which was handed over to the men who had "bought" her.

A special vice team has been set up to deal with trafficking in Scotland. Police say the Triad gang 14 are the biggest sex slave traders in Scotland, trafficking girls into Glasgow and Edinburgh. The girls are kept in flats and moved around and it is difficult for the police to intervene. Glasgow's sex industry is being run by two rival Chinese Triad gangs, as well as by Scottish gangsters. The 14K Triads (Snakeheads) have a stronghold in Glasgow. There are also "thousands" of illegal immigrants from Eastern European countries working as prostitutes in Glasgow. Little is known about them by the police. When the Eastern European countries of Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Slovakia and the Czech Republic enter the European Union on May 1, the Scottish police fear that Scottish cities will be "awash with Eastern European prostitutes."
Sex traffickers use English language schools to help bring sex slaves to Scotland.

Burns, Janice. "My Hell as a Sex Slave in Scotland" The Daily Record 7 Feb 2004 <http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/content_objectid=13937313_
method=full_siteid=89488_headline=-VICE-IN-SCOTLAND--MY-
HELL-AS-A-SEX-SLAVE-IN-SCOTLAND-name_page.html>

February 11, 2004
Mystery sex boss rented HIV-infected girls to brothels
As part of the "Vice in Scotland" series, the Daily Record investigated a recent case in Dundee. 
According to this article:

A joint effort by Scotland Yard, Tayside Police, Fife and Northern Constabularies resulted in a case against Richard Howie, a pimp who rented girls from a "mystery madam" to work as prostitutes in his Dundee brothels. Howie earned over £1000 a month. The prostitutes included two illegal immigrants from Kenya and Congo. Some were found to be HIV positive.

In July 2003, Richard Howie admitted owning two brothels and was ordered to complete 200 hours of community service. Richard Howie is the son of Robin Howie, lover of Margaret Cook who is the ex-wife of former Foreign Secretary Robin Cook.

The madam who was the primary source of Howie's prostitutes is based in London.  She has 6 known aliases and was the target of a nationwide investigation.  She remains at large.

"Mystery sex boss rented HIV-infected girls to brothels" The Daily Record 11 Feb 2004  <http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/news/page.cfm?objectid=
13937320&method=full&siteid=89488>

February 11, 2004
On the run from Triads
As part of the "Vice in Scotland" series, the Daily Record interviewed "Elaine", a Chinese girl who escaped from Triad sex traders.
According to this article:

Elaine was sold into the hands of a Chinese gang, promised a job working in a restaurant in Britain, and ended up in Soho, forced to have sex with many Chinese men. According to Elaine, "the Triads do not allow white men to have sex with their own until they are finished with them." She was moved to another brothel, held as a prisoner, unable to escape without money or a place to go. She would like to return to her family but is too ashamed to go home.
Elaine is hiding in Manchester and still working as a prostitute. She says that she does not to know how to do anything else.

"On the run from Triads" The Daily Record 11 Feb 2004 <http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/content_objectid=13937314_
method=full_siteid=89488_headline=-VICE-IN-SCOTLAND--ON-
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February 11, 2004
Thug built £1m empire out of others' misery
According to this article:

Luan Plakici was a sex trader who was jailed in 2003. This article gives many details about Plakici, who admitted at trial to seven counts of people trafficking and helping up to 60 women to enter Britain illegally. He was found guilty of kidnapping, procuring a teenager to have unlawful sex, incitement to rape and living on prostitution. Among his victims was a Russian, Olessia Khledod, who was forced to work as a prostitute in Scotland. She was "puchased" from Plakici by Glasgow pimp Titi Istogu, eventually escaped and went to a safe house.

"Thug built £1M empire out of others' misery"  The Daily Record 11 Feb 2004  <http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/content_objectid=13937318
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February 11, 2004
You can have Cindy, she's only been here four days
As part of the "Vice in Scotland" series, Daily Record undercover reporters visited a brothel in Glasgow where they encountered "Cindy", a Thai 19 year old prostitute.
According to this article:

Cindy traveled directly from Thailand to Glasgow and had only been in the city 4 days. This article describes experience of the reporters at the brothel which catered to punters preferring Oriental girls.

Macleod, Keith and Allan Caldwell.  "You can have Cindy, She's only been here four days"  The Daily Record  11 Feb 2004 
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February 14, 2004
Cops in war on vice
According to this article:

A major crackdown on prostitution took place in Glasgow. Over 30 police officers spent two days rounding up prostitutes, kerb-crawlers and drug dealers. 17 prostitutes were arrested and were given personal alarms, safety information and advice on how to get out of prostitution. 4 women were given "street warnings". A number of people were arrested on warrants and 3 were charged with attempting to pervert justice. 

The James Duncan House Hostel, exposed by the Daily Record as a location where prostitutes were purchasing heroin, was targeted in the clampdown. A police spokesman explained that the prostitutes sold sex due to their addictions and therefore needed help in that area to break the cycle.

Last year "The Routes Out of Prostitution" team helped 58 women who were trying to get out of the sex industry. The organization helps women by organizing accommodation, rehab, education, employment and counselling.

Kerb-crawling legislation is being considered by the Scottish Executive to increase police power to clamp down on the men buying sex.  Presently, men can be only charged with a "sexual breach of the peace" if caught in a physical act with a prostitute.

Quote:
'There is no legislation to deal with the kerb-crawlers and in many ways they get off scot-free. 'But since October, we've done 37 males involved in a sexual breach of the peace. 'We will continue to stop them and take their names and registration numbers and put them on a database of men who frequent red-light districts. 'Many more of them should know they've joined that database over the last two days.' 'We are also dealing with the girls, although many are to be pitied. If this initiative helped lead one girl out of prostitution then it was worthwhile.' ~Superintendent Tim Love

Page, Cara "Cops in war on vice" The Daily Record. 14 Feb 2004 <http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/content_objectid=13948855
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