United Kingdom 2006: Sex Trafficking

Also see: United Kingdom 2006: Prostitution The offence of trafficking into the UK for sexual exploitation is covered by section 57 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and carries a maximum penalty following conviction on indictment of 14 years imprisonment.
JANUARY
01-Jan-06	Traffickers face action to curb sex trade	Telegraph David Harrison
Crackdown on the sex trafficking gangs.
ORIGINAL: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/main.jhtml ?xml=/health/2006/01/02/npros01.xml&sSheet=/health/2006/01/02/ixhmain.html WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GNZem5kE
05-Jan-06	UK Government: Consultation on UK's first national action plan to tackle human trafficking	M2 PressWIRE
'Tackling Human Trafficking'- Consultation
ORIGINAL: http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/ind/en/home/news/press_releases/consultation_on_uk.textonly.html WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GNZem5kQ
05-Jan-06	Tackling human trafficking	Labour Party
Labour Party statement re: consultation (above).
ORIGINAL: http://www.labour.org.uk/index.php?id=news2005&ux_news[id]=humantrafficking&cHash=58fb100126 WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GNaxWPgr
05-Jan-06	Exclusive: it's not paying for sex.. it is rape	The Mirror Rosa Prince
Statement: Home Office minister Paul Goggins
ORIGINAL: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=16548468&method=full&siteid=94762&headline=--it-is-rape--name_page.html WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GNZem5kt
05-Jan-06	Plans to help trafficking victims	BBC
Consultation document
ORIGINAL: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4580746.stm WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GNZem5l2
FEBRUARY
03-Feb-06	Sex trafficker sent to jail	Manchester Online Mike Slingsby
Albanian Ilir Markvukaj
ORIGINAL: http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/men/news/s/203/203176_sex_trafficker_sent_to_jail.html
07-Feb-06	Sex trafficking is 'real problem'	BBC Week in Week Out
See: BBC Week In Week Out: Sex Traffickers: ORIGINAL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/weekinweekout/stories/2006_sextraffickers.shtml
ORIGINAL: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/4687048.stm
07-Feb-06	Trafficked women tricked into prostitution	Western Mail Tryst Williams
See: BBC Week In Week Out: Sex Traffickers: ORIGINAL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/weekinweekout/stories/2006_sextraffickers.shtml
ORIGINAL: http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0200wales/tm_objectid=16673843&method=full&siteid=50082&headline=eastern-european-women----tell-how-they-were-tricked-into-prostitution-in-wales-name_page.html
11-Feb-06	Asians held in Britain brothel raid	Indo-Asian News Service
13 Asian women and an equal number from England and Latvia arrested during brothel raid. Humberside Police said investigating sex trafficking aspect.
ORIGINAL: http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1622831,00050003.htm
21-Feb-06	Drive to help trafficking victims	BBC
Operation Pentameter
ORIGINAL: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4734554.stm
21-Feb-06	Sex traffickers campaign launch	Channel 4 News
Operation Pentameter
ORIGINAL: http://www.channel4.com/news/content/news-storypage.jsp?id=764775
21-Feb-06	Police launch campaign against sex trafficking	Observer
Operation Pentameter
ORIGINAL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/crime/article/0,,1714685,00.html?gusrc=rss
21-Feb-06	Sex slave gangs in cop blitz	Mirror
Operation Pentameter
ORIGINAL: http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/tm_objectid=16731811&method=full&siteid=94762&headline=sex-slave-gangs-in-cop-blitz--name_page.html
22-Feb-06	Airport clampdown on sex traffic trade	Glasgow Evening Times
Operation Pentameter
ORIGINAL: http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/hi/news/5049153.html
27-Feb-06	STOP THE TRAFFICKERS	Mirror
Operation Pentameter
ORIGINAL: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=16752732&method=full&siteid=94762&headline=stop-the-traffickers--name_page.html
28-Feb-06	Sold like a piece of meat	Mirror Victoria Bone
Lithuanian sex trafficking victim. Albanian gang.
ORIGINAL: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=16755029&method=full&siteid=94762&headline=sold-like-a-piece-of-meat--name_page.html
MARCH
02-Mar-06	Canada an “International Embarrassment” on Sex Trafficking	Lifesite Terry Vanderheyden
40-page study, titled “Falling Short of the Mark: An International Study on the Treatment of Human Trafficking Victims” released by The Future Group, a leading Canadian non-partisan, non-governmental organization that specializes in combating human trafficking. Canada and the United Kingdom have been singled out for failing to meet their obligations for the protection of victims of human trafficking.
ORIGINAL: http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/mar/06030209.html WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GNZsXm1B
12-Mar-06	UN chief praises our sex trafficking exposé	Telegraph David Harrison
According to this article: Sunday Telegraph investigation prompted government action against sex traffickers
ORIGINAL: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/03/12/nsextrade12.xml&sSheet=/news/2006/03/12/ixhome.html WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GNZsXm1d
22-Mar-06	50 held in sex traffick crackdown	This is London
Greater Manchester, Hampshire, Lancashire and Northumbria: 14 women, including a 15-year-old girl rescued - Operation Pentameter. Women were allegedly forced into prostitution. Ages: from 15 to 39 and come from a range of eastern European countries. 50 suspected traffickers arrested.
ORIGINAL: http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/articles/PA_NEWA13441401143021947A00003?source=PA Feed
22-Mar-06	Women rescued in trafficking op	BBC News
Greater Manchester, Hampshire, Lancashire and Northumbria: 14 women, including a 15-year-old girl rescued - Operation Pentameter. Women were allegedly forced into prostitution. Ages: from 15 to 39 and come from a range of eastern European countries. 50 suspected traffickers arrested.
ORIGINAL: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/4833224.stm WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GNZsXm1z
24-Mar-06	Operation Pentameter One Month on - 14 Women 'Rescued'	Tayside Police
Operation Pentameter According to this article: 14 potential victims of sex trafficking have been identified to date. Pentameter was launched on February 21 with an information campaigned aimed at foreign travellers arriving at UK ports and the operational phase began the same day. Warrants have been issued in brothels, massage parlours and private residents across the UK. 51 arrests have been made for various offences. DCC Grahame Maxwell is the Pentameter Program Director.
ORIGINAL: http://www.taysidepolice.police.uk/newsitem.php?id=434 WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GNZsXm2I
24-Mar-06	Guilty plea of brothel brothers	Northern Echo
Darlington brothel raided. 6 Thai prostitutes were deported. Mark Cass pleaded guilty to people trafficking within the UK for purposes of prostitution, living off earnings of prostitution and controlling prostitution for gain. Daniel Cass pleaded guilty to keeping a brothel used for prostitution. Sentencing April 10. Police intend to seize assets.
ORIGINAL: http://calibre.mworld.com/m/m.w?lp=GetStory&id=189062351 or WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GNZsXm2S
APRIL
02-Apr-06	Raped, beaten and helpless: UK's sex slaves	Observer
Sister Ann Teresa: The Medaille Trust - Safe houses for trafficked women
ORIGINAL: http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1745012,00.html WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GMEHbR8z
03-Apr-06	Purge on asylum seekers leaves violent criminals on streets, says MP	Telegraph Stewart Payne
Operation Falcon: Since May 2005, Officers have arrested more than 80 suspected illegal immigrants who were involved in drugs and prostitution.
ORIGINAL: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/04/03/nimm03.xml&sSheet=/news/2006/04/03/ixhome.html WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GLxQYkA0
04-Apr-06	UK 'FBI' crime unit launched	Herald Sun
Serious Organised Crime Agency launched. Modeled on US FBI. Aim tackling drug traffickers, people smugglers, global pedophile networks & sophisticated fraudsters. It will also focus on those criminals involved in trafficking women, often from eastern Europe, into Britain and forcing them to work as prostitutes.
ORIGINAL: http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,18692391^23109,00.html WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GMFtI0O9
04-Apr-06	'Evil' sex-trafficking couple stripped of £40,000	24 Dash Ian Morgan
London Moldovans: Gavril and Tamara Dulghieru ordered to hand over a total of £42,370
ORIGINAL: http://www.24dash.com/content/news/viewNews.php?navID=7&newsID=4461 WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GLxQYkAc
05-Apr-06	Tackling Human Trafficking - Consultation on Proposals for a UK Action Plan	UK Home Office
Closing date April 5, 2006 "Human trafficking is a modern day form of slavery which causes great harm to both individuals who are trafficked and to our society and economy as a whole. Tackling human trafficking is a key priority for the UK Government's organised crime strategy. The Government is committed to drawing up a national action plan aimed at combating and preventing human trafficking, as recommended by international organisations such as the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The purpose of this consultation is to seek views on the proposed areas for action and specific initiatives which are proposed as well as an opportunity to suggest other areas where a UK strategy should focus."
ORIGINAL: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/TacklingTrafficking.pdf
07-Apr-06	£2.4 million to help UK human sex trafficking victims	24 Dash Ian Morgan
Home Office Minister Paul Goggins announcement re: £2.4 million in government funding to help set up a 24-hour national outreach service for the UK victims of human sex trafficking through the POPPY scheme (Eaves Housing for Women.) Funding will be provided over the next two years: team of 4 outreach workers, continued provision of 25 beds in safe house, 10 new "step-down" places, resource pack (info and advice for victims), other support projects and law enforcement personnel.
ORIGINAL: http://www.24dash.com/content/news/viewNews.php?navID=7&newsID=4614 WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GLxQYkAp
07-Apr-06	UK Government: First outreach service for victims of trafficking	M2 Communications
Home Office Minister Paul Goggins announcement re: 24 hour outreach service that will be set up through the Poppy scheme. See above. Further info regarding Operation Pentameter (launched Feb 21), a national operation looking at the trafficking of women and children for sexual exploitation. Resulted to date in 14 women being rescued and 51 alleged traffickers arrested.
ORIGINAL: http://www.gnn.gov.uk/Content/Detail.asp?ReleaseID=195246&NewsAreaID=2 WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GLxQYkB1
10-Apr-06	Cash to help sex trafficking victims	Community Newswire Rosamond Hutt
London Eaves Housing for Women has been awarded £2.4m in Government funding over two years for the Poppy Project which provides help to women who have been trafficked into the UK and forced to work in the sex industry. Crisis accommodation for 25 women, additional 10 places for victims needing less intensive protection and support. Over 100 sex trafficking victims helped by Poppy Project to date. Over half women were from Central and Eastern Europe and the Baltic States and the remainder came from Nigeria; Thailand; Malaysia; Uganda; Vietnam; China; and Mongolia.
ORIGINAL: http://www.communitynewswire.press.net/article.jsp?id=299164 WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GLxQYkBB
20-Apr-06	Scotland Yard agents dispatched in Albania	Makfax
Scotland Yard agents are in Albania to check bank accounts of Albanian migrants in UK allegedly involved in illegal drugs trade and prostitution rings
ORIGINAL: http://www.makfax.com.mk/look/agencija/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=1&NrArticle= 20380&NrIssue=444&NrSection=20
21-Apr-06	Three women are arrested during sex traffickers hunt	The Herald Graeme Smith
Operation Pentameter Three Brazilian women were arrested and £30,000 recovered from a flat in Dundee which was raided as part of an operation to combat sex trafficking. A number of other people also arrested during raids. Over 60 suspected sex traffickers arrested to date as part of Operation Pentameter. In raids on brothels in England and Wales, 14 sex trafficking victims including 15 year old girl were freed. Most traffickers have been eastern Europeans but two alleged British traffickers arrested in south Wales.
ORIGINAL: http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/60502.html WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GLxQYkBl
23-Apr-06	London's criminal families replaced by ethnic gangs	Telegraph Ben Leapman
London Police intelligence report concludes that in London there are 180 crime gangs speaking 24 languages - international networks involved in murders, drug dealing, prostitution and people trafficking as the opportunities arise.
ORIGINAL: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/04/23/ngangs23.xml&sSheet=/news/2006/04/23/ixhome.html WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GLxQYkBv
24-Apr-06	Arrests at sex trafficking raids	BBC News
North Wales According to this article: Three women rescued and five people arrested. Locations include: Anglesey, Conwy and Denbighshire. Women were from China, Malaysia and Namibia and have been taken to a safe place. Also see: North Wales Police press release
ORIGINAL: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/wales/4941960.stm WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GvyRBXO6
25-Apr-06	London's ethnic gangs 'running out of control'	24dash
London According to this article: Police warned that gangs from London's ethnic minority communities are running "out of control" and are involved in organised crime including people-trafficking and fake passports.
ORIGINAL: http://www.24dash.com/content/news/viewNews.php?navID=7&newsID=5100 WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GLxQYkCO
25-Apr-06	Traffickers have created '21st Century slave trade'	Cambridge News
Operation Maxim According to this article: Police chiefs say that criminal gangs are out of control. They are trading in fake passports and exploiting illegal immigration. Counterfeit passport and ID paper trading is occurring on an uncontrollable scale, according to Superintendent Bob Murrill. Police admit that neither they nor the Home Office know the scale of people trafficking - often of women into prostitution.
ORIGINAL: http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/city/2006/04/25/d73cca9b-d004-49d7-b5ea-0e42842e7613.lpf WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GLxQYkCW
25-Apr-06	'Porn site' film urges men to report sex trafficking	Guardian
Crimestoppers freesextraffic.co.uk According to this article: An internet film that aims to persuade men who visit prostitutes to pass information on sex trafficking to the authorities has been launched by Crimestoppers. It is designed to look like a porn site.
ORIGINAL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/crime/article/0,,1761177,00.html WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GMEkklR0
25-Apr-06	UN urges Balkan nations to fight human trafficking	DTT-NET.COM
UN report on human trafficking According to this article: Trafficked victims from countries in Central and South Eastern Europe are reported to be trafficked mainly to EU Western countries: Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Greece, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Austria, France and Spain. According to the report “virtually every country in the world is affected by the crime of human trafficking in millions of people for sexual exploitation or forced labour”. “Governments must take serious steps to eliminate a scourge whose main victims are women and children."
ORIGINAL: http://www.dttnet.com/en/index.php?page=viewarticle&article=1427&CMSSESSID=cd7031383f21ee0ca8d3d6980f4f8f0b WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GLxQYkCf
25-Apr-06	City sex traffickers jailed	Birmingham Post Emma Pinch
Birmingham Garden of Eden Massage Parlour in Yardley (and others) According to this article: Sex Traffickers: Albanian Lorenc Goduni and Lithuanian Simona Kazakaite. Goduni sentenced to 7 years for trafficking within the UK for sexual exploitation. Kazakaite sentenced to 4 years for conspiracy to control prostitution for gain and conspiracy to cause or incite prostitution. It was West Midlands' first successful human trafficking prosecution. The 18 year old Lithuanian victim was lured to the UK in an internet chatroom and then forced to work in Birmingham brothels. Detective Constable Tom Kavanagh said that human trafficking was "massively widespread" in Britain's cities.
ORIGINAL: http://icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100localnews/tm_objectid=16989581&method=full&siteid=50002&headline=city-sex-traffickers-jailed-name_page.html WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GLxQYkCo
25-Apr-06	South Yorkshire Police - Press Release	South Yorkshire Police
Operation Pentameter According to this article: Men who use prostitutes are a vital link in the sex trafficking chain Quote: "We are talking about a world where victims are a commodity," said Pentameter . "Women are bought, sold and transported across Europe to places where demand exists. While ever British men are prepared to pay for sex with foreign women in brothels, trafficking gangs will import them in to the country for profit, keep them captive and systematically abuse them." Programme Director, Deputy Chief Constable Grahame Maxwell The Home Office consultation document on prostitution, Paying the Price quotes research suggesting that the average man who pays for sex as, "a man of around 30 years of age, married, in full time employment, and with no criminal convictions." It also quotes the National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (2001) which found 4.3% of UK men aged 16-44 reported having paid for sex in the past 5 years.
ORIGINAL: http://southyorks.police.uk/news/details.php?id=2543
26-Apr-06	UK anti-human trafficking campaign	Polskie Radio
According to this article: British authorities argue that Poland’s accession to the EU has made it that much easier for traffickers to recruit their victims.
ORIGINAL: http://www.polskieradio.pl/polonia/article.asp?tId=35857&j=2 WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GLxQYkD8
26-Apr-06	UK part of modern day slave trade, say police	ABC Rafael Epstein
Operation Maxim According to senior Scotland Yard detectives, sex trafficking in the UK has reached unprecedented proportions.
ORIGINAL: http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2006/s1623927.htm WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GvyKD4PU
MAY
02-May-06	Global trade in sex slaves 'out of control'	Tonight Deborah Orr
Operation Pentameter Report: Trafficking In Persons: Global Patterns According to this article: "Citing 127 countries from which women are trafficked and 137 countries that are favoured as destinations, Global Patterns confirms that the vast majority of trafficked humans are women bought and sold to be put to work in the sex trade. The nations cited as being the most commonly targeted destinations include Germany. In a chilling insight into the sporting life, it is estimated that anything up to 40 000 extra sex workers are likely to be smuggled into the country in the coming weeks, in anticipation of huge demand for prostitutes during the World Cup." "A 2003 report estimates that close to a million people are trafficked across borders to feed the sex trade. It is suggested that up to half a million women work in the 12 countries that until recently formed the European Community (now, many woman are trafficked from the new member states). Figures issued by police officers involved in Operation Parameter suggest that in London alone 5 000 women are working as slaves in the sex industry, and are forced to see between 20 and 30 men a day. One woman who escaped claimed to have been forced to see 80 men on one Christmas day."
ORIGINAL: http://tonight.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=3226610&fSectionId=385&fSetId=216 WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GJyvj8Fe
02-May-06	Courts to get guide on deportations	ic Scotland
According to this article: Foreigners convicted of murder, sex offences, fraud and people trafficking could be automatically recommended for deportation under proposed new guidelines for courts.
ORIGINAL: http://icscotland.icnetwork.co.uk/news/uk/today/tm_objectid=17020178&method=full&siteid=50141&headline=courts-to-get-guide-on-deportations-name_page.html WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GJyvj8GI
02-May-06	Arrests in sex trafficking raids	BBC News
Operation Pentameter North Manchester - Clayton / Cheetham Hill According to this article: 4 arrests on suspicion of conspiracy to traffic women for sexual exploitation, controlling prostitution and false imprisonment. 6 women taken into protective custody.
ORIGINAL: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/manchester/4964818.stm WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GJyvj8Gc
03-May-06	'Sex slaves' raid on cops' doorstep	Manchester Evening News Nicola Dowling
Operation Pentameter Cheetham Hill According to this article: Three Czech men, two aged 36 and one 30, and an Albanian woman, 25, were arrested at the sauna on Cheetham Hill Road, across the road from Cheetham Hill police station. Six women were also taken by police from two terraced houses in Langness Street and Canberra Street in Clayton. The women have not been arrested but have been offered support and advice. Authorities will work to strip the criminal gangs of their assets and wealth gained through the exploitation of women. (Also see: "Police swoop on sauna in sex trafficking clampdown" / 24 dash)
ORIGINAL: http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/men/news/s/212/212102_sex_slaves_raid_on_cops_doorstep.html WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GJyvj8Gv
07-May-06	A World of Pain: Vice Shame of Football Showcase	Sunday Mail Rosie Kane
OPINION Rosie Kane According to this article: Sex trafficking of women. UK a "favourite destination" "Last year a woman from Russia came to see me. She needed help and I gradually heard, with mounting horror, her story. She was happy at home with her Russian boyfriend, a powerful man with an influential job. She was looking forward to a future with him. But her boyfriend was a gangster who made a fortune by luring women into his lair before shutting the trap door. He then sold his unsuspecting victims to vice gangs. The woman fled Russia and came to Scotland for her own safety. She claimed asylum and explained that if she returned she would be recaptured and punished. But her claim was rejected and she was forced to go back. I haven't heard from her since."
ORIGINAL: http://www.sundaymail.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=17042825&method=full&siteid=64736&headline=a-world-of-pain-name_page.html WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GLWnHjtF
07-May-06	Raids uncover 'sex trafficking'	BBC News
Kent According to this article: 28 people were arrested and 7 suspected sex trafficking victims were rescued after raids on brothels in Kent. Police believe the 7 victims are only a fraction of those affected. Many of the people arrested have been served with extradition papers. Police believe that at least £1.5m is spent a week in Kent brothels, that there are about 300 brothels in Kent and that approximately 1500 women are trafficked into the UK yearly.
ORIGINAL: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/england/kent/4982236.stm WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GJyvj8Ie
08-May06	Sex trafficking crackdown rescues 44 women	icWales
Operation Pentameter 44 women, (mainly aged 18 to 22) and 2 teenage girls (aged 15 and 17) allegedly forced into prostitution have been rescued. 154 arrests have been made. They largely come from Eastern Europe and the Balkans as well as Thailand, China and Brazil. Operation Pentameter was launched in February 2006 and involves all 55 police forces in the UK, ROI and Channel Islands. Nearly 400 raids to date and almost £170,000 has been seized. Charges have included human trafficking, kidnapping, false imprisonment, controlling prostitution and rape. "A police spokeswoman said that as a result of the operation they have realised that younger women and virgins are being sold for twice as much as was originally thought. She added: This is completely about rescuing victims. It s not about returning people to their country. It s not about deportation, although that may be a by-product. It s about uncovering people who are suffering this misery. " http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0200wales/tm_objectid=17047667&method=full&siteid= 50082&headline=sex-trafficking-crackdown-rescues-44-women-name_page.html
08-May06	Sex trafficking victims found in brothel blitz	Scotsman
Kent Police raided brothels across Kent and arrested 28 people. 7 suspected victims of sex trafficking were found.
ORIGINAL: http://news.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=689752006
08-May06	Sex trafficking op 'rescues 46'	BBC News
Operation Pentameter (as above) 154 arrests. Victims are largely from eastern Europe and the Balkans. Almost 400 operations have been carried out, with 19 forces in England, Scotland and Wales rescuing women thought to be victims of sex trafficking. Operation Pentameter also involves the Home Office and the Serious Organised Crime Agency.
ORIGINAL: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4751039.stm
08-May-06	Nightmare world of suburban sex slaves	Guardian Paul Lewis
According to this article: A report on a government campaign against trafficking, published on this date, indicates that a new market in young South American women is changing the face the British sex trade. Traffickers are being paid as much as £8,000 per victim, the girls are as young as 15 and an increasing number of them are being held in suburban houses. They have been raped, threatened, stripped of passports and forced into underground brothels upon arrival in the UK. Many came believing they would get lucrative jobs. Trafficking gangs have posed as employment agencies and insisted on parental permission to allow the girls to travel. Critics of Operation Pentameter say police have used their inquiries as an excuse to find and deport illegal immigrants. Officers have found that trafficked women - particularly virgins - are being sold between trafficking gangs for as much as £8,000.
ORIGINAL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/crime/article/0,,1769962,00.html WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GLWSSvZA
09-May06	Victims released as police target trafficking gangs	Yorkshire Today
Operation Pentameter 40 suspected sex trafficking victims have been released to date. After two months of operation, investigators have found 46 people believed to have been forced into prostitution and have arrested 154 people believed to be responsible. Other details as above.
ORIGINAL: http://www.yorkshiretoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=55&ArticleID=1490453
09-May06	Woman saved from the evil sex traffickers	Leeds Today David Bruce
Operation Pentameter West Yorks West Yorkshire police rescued Czech sex trafficking victim. She is currently in hiding at a secret refuge. The woman contacted police last month. Two men are awaiting trial in her case - a Greek and a Kosovan. They were arrested during raids in Leeds and Huddersfield. One brothel in Woodhouse, Leeds has been closed. Raids on saunas, brothels and private addresses suspected to be involved in the vice trade will continue.
ORIGINAL: http://www.leedstoday.net/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=39&ArticleID=1491184
10-May-06	19 rescued in sex traffic swoop	Independent Neville Dean
London Operation Pentameter Pentameter involves all 55 police forces in the UK, Republic of Ireland and Channel Islands. Nearly 400 raids have taken place nationwide, 154 arrests have been made and £170,000 has been seized. According to this article: 12 people were arrested and 19 sex trafficking victims were rescued after police raided 7 addresses in London and the West Midlands. 13 of the women were rescued from a Paddington brothel and 6 from a Birmingham brothel. They were taken to specialist reception centers and given access to services. The ringleader and his partner are believed to be Vietnamese and were arrested at a London hotel and charged with trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation and conspiracy to control prostitution for gain. The trafficking network is suspected of trafficking Malaysian women into the UK for the purposes of prostitution. The Salvation Army has offered to provide accommodation for the victims. Quote: "To people who organise women in this fashion and traffic women into the country: we will find you and we will arrest you for it. "To men who use brothels, my message is 'stop it'. You are fuelling this trade. "To anyone who knows of women in this position, please come forward. We want to help women who are victims of this crime." Chief Superintendent Ian Dyson Also see: "19 women rescued in 'brothel' raids" - "In the News UK"
ORIGINAL: http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/crime/article363188.ece WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GJyvj8K0
10-May-06	Police find 19 women in sex trafficking raids	Guardian
London Operation Pentameter (As Above) According to this article: 12 people were arrested and 19 sex trafficking victims (all thought to have been trafficked from Malaysia) were rescued after police raided 7 addresses in London and the West Midlands. Officers have heard accounts of women being raped, threatened, stripped of passports and forced into brothels on arrival in the UK. Amnesty International said that even the women who were brought to the country against their will are being deported if they refuse to assist with police investigations. Research into sex trafficking has revealed a new growing market in young women from South America that is changing the face of Britain's sex trade. Traffickers are being paid as much as £8,000 a victim and police across the country have discovered an increasing number of young women being held in suburban houses.
ORIGINAL: http://society.guardian.co.uk/crimeandpunishment/story/0,,1771617,00.html WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GLWGhZc3
11-May-06	Campaigners welcome trafficking raid, but express concern for women	Ekklesia.co.uk
Operation Pentameter (As Above) According to this article: Although welcoming the police crackdown on people traffickers, human rights and church-based campaigners in the UK have expressed concern for women freed in the raids. Mike Blakemore (Amnesty International) said: “Amnesty welcomes the police crackdown on traffickers and their vicious trade in women who are held prisoner and forced to work as prostitutes. But we need to know now what protection the women reportedly rescued from these properties are receiving ... The fact is, currently, trafficked women have no guaranteed protection in the UK. The law sees them simply as illegal immigrants and British people would be appalled to know that many of them are deported to countries where they could be at serious risk of being re-trafficked ... Victims of trafficking have had all of their very basic human rights violated we must turn the system around so that they are recognised as the victims and not the perpetrators of crime. The UK government must sign up to the new European Convention Against Trafficking.” Angela Perkins (National Board of Catholic Women) said: "We fully support the comments made by Amnesty International. With them and many others the NBCW continues to lobby the government to sign up to the European Convention Against Trafficking and provide care and a safe return for those women who have been so appallingly exploited ... While we know provision for rescued women is inadequate, many Roman Catholic Religious Orders are already involved in rehabilitation work in Albania and in setting up safe houses here in England ... It would be an act of justice if some of the millions of money confiscated by the government from convicted traffickers was released in order to help these projects." The European Convention Against Trafficking guarantees trafficked people a 'reflection period' of at least 30 days during which time they can receive support to aid their recovery, including safe housing and emergency medical support; It also offers temporary residence permits for trafficked people who may be in danger if they return to their country, and/or if it is necessary to assist criminal proceedings. CHASTE (Churches Alert to Sex Trafficking in Europe) has been developing a network of European Churches responding to the problem. There is also coordination through the Churches’ Commission on Migrants in Europe of an EU funded project connecting churches and church agencies involved in anti-trafficking initiatives and survivor support.
ORIGINAL: http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/content/news_syndication/article_060511traffic.shtml WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GJyvj8K8
11-May-06	13 held in raid on Hyde Park brothel	Gulf Times
Operation Pentameter London According to this article: Police raided an up-market brothel on May 10th as a result of investigations into a multi-million pound people trafficking racket. The brothel catered to businessmen and was located in a Hyde Park townhouse located a few streets from Tony Blair's £3.6mn Connaught Square property. 13 Malaysian women were rescued (aged between 19 and 25) and were taken to support centers. It is believed that as many as 40 men per day paid more than £100 at the brothel. 12 people were arrested including the suspected ringleader, who is Vietnamese and is believed to have paid £6,000 a month rent on the premises in Hyde Park Street. At least two brothels in London and Birmingham are believed to be part of the trafficking network which police said was one of the largest networks they had run across to date. Interpol is involved in the investigation. The network is suspected of trafficking hundreds of women into Heathrow from Malaysia.
ORIGINAL: http://www.gulftimes.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=85843&version=1&template_id=38&parent_id=20 WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GJyvj8KH
11-May-06	Malaysian women rescued in London anti-vice raids	New Straits Times
Operation Pentameter London According to this article: 19 Malaysian women believed to be victims of an international sex trafficking ring were rescued during raids in London on May 10th. Then other Malaysians were arrested. Police intend to enforce asset forfeiture laws.
ORIGINAL: http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/nst/Thursday/National/20060511081029/Article/index_html
11-May-06	Malaysian women rescued from London sex ring	The Star Online Choi Tuck Wo
Operation Pentameter London (As above) 19 Malaysian women were rescued from two brothels during a pre-dawn crackdown on a multi-million human-trafficking racket. 13 of the women were found in a townhouse in Hyde Park and six others in another brothel in Birmingham. The women will be given access to health professionals, interpreters and specially trained sexual offences investigators. All 19 women were taken to the Sundbury Detention Centre outside London and interviewed by Malaysian High Commission officials.
ORIGINAL: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/5/11/nation/14214849&sec=nation WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GJyvj8KQ
12-May-06	Sex traffickers arrested after vice squad swoop on Paddington	Ham and High: Wood and Vale Edition Marijke Peters
Operation Pentameter London (As above) According to this article: 7 men were arrested for suspicion of sex trafficking after a vice raid in Paddington. 13 Malaysian women were rescued. Police also raided addresses in Soho, Birmingham and Berkhamsted, made further arrests and rescued another six women. "Lynda King Taylor, chairwoman of the sector working group, which has worked closely with the police on the issue of prostitution in Westminster said: "These are not just £20 per hour job prostitutes, this was always part of a huge human trafficking ring and serious organised crime." Residents in Marylebone are fighting a government plan to allow mini-brothels to operate on a legal basis.
ORIGINAL: http://woodandvale.london24.net/woodandvale/news/story.aspx?brand=NorthLondon24&category= Newswoodandvale&tBrand=northlondon24&tCategory= newswoodandvale&itemid=WeED12%20May%202006%2014%3A50%3A09%3A537 WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GLS3ah2I
16-May-06	Police in people smuggling raids	BBC News
Operation Pentameter Gloucestershire Police searched a number of homes in Cheltenham suspected of housing victims of people trafficking.
ORIGINAL: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/england/gloucestershire/4986542.stm WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GJyvj8Ki
16-May-06	Sex trade crackdown	Yorkshire Today
Operation Pentameter Leeds / Bradford Suspected brothels raided. 50 year old man and 45 year old woman arrested on suspicion of managing brothels and later released.
ORIGINAL: http://www.yorkshiretoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=55&ArticleID=1504785 WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GJyvj8Kr
18-May-06	Why sex traffic must be brought to a halt: Shame of Britain's forgotten women	Mirror Kate Allen
"The European Convention on Sex Trafficking is a year old today - but it's been virtually ignored in Britain. "
ORIGINAL: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=17095540&method=full&siteid=94762&headline=why-sex-traffic-must-be-brought-to-a-halt--name_page.html WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GLwIypNg
25-May-06	Operation Pentameter sheds light on Thames Valley sex industry	Aylesbury Today
Operation Pentameter Thames Valley
ORIGINAL: http://www.aylesburytoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=789&ArticleID=1525386 WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GJyvj8Lb
26-May-06	Police rescue two sex slaves	Get Reading
Operation Pentameter Reading One Chinese woman and one Lithuanian woman who were victims of sex trafficking in Reading were rescued by police. Two other women, from China and Papua New Guinea, were rescued from other parts of the Thames Valley.
ORIGINAL: http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/2001/2001882/police_rescue_two_sex_slaves WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GJyvj8MC
26-May-06	Brothel girl rescued	Oxford Mail
Operation Pentameter Oxfordshire Police raided 12 brothels in Oxfordshire. One Chinese prostitute who was a victim of sex trafficking was rescued from a brothel in Ferry Hinksey Rd, Oxford. 18 prostitutes from 12 countries were interviewed by police. Across the Thames Valley, 75 prostitutes were spoken to in 43 brothels and four women who were believed to have been trafficked were rescued. The prostitutes interviewed by police in Oxfordshire were from across the world, including Thailand, China, Malaysia, Kosovo, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Italy, Spain, Britain and Zimbabwe, as well as the UK.
ORIGINAL: http://www.oxfordmail.net/display.var.772871.0.brothel_girl_rescued.php WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GJyvj8MV
26-May-06	Trafficking must be the target	Oxford Mail
Operation Pentameter Police identified 12 brothels in Oxfordshire and rescued a Chinese woman from one in Oxford.
ORIGINAL: http://www.oxfordmail.net/news/comment/display.var.773018.0.trafficking_must_be_the_target.php WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GJyvj8Me
26-May-06	West Berkshire police infiltrate sex industry	Newbury Today
Operation Pentameter As above.
ORIGINAL: http://www.newburytoday.co.uk/News/Article.aspx?articleID=2263 WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GJyvj8Mn
26-May-06	7 charged after UK sex trafficking swoop	24 Dash
Seven people were arrested and charged on suspicion of controlling prostitution. Five men and two women will appear before magistrates in Fenton, Stoke-on-Trent, to answer the charges. Warrants were executed in Burton upon Trent, Stoke-on-Trent, Derby, Worcestershire and Devon. Six detainees are believed to be Chinese. The seventh is a 61-year-old man from Barnstaple. Four women have been taken to a safe location.
ORIGINAL: http://www.24dash.com/content/news/viewNews.php?navID=7&newsID=6173 WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GJyvj8NP
30-May-06	Police free sex slaves from Reading brothels	icBerksire
Operation Pentameter Reading
ORIGINAL: http://icberkshire.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0200berkshireheadlines/tm_objectid=17147897&method=full&siteid= 50102&headline=police-free-sex-slaves-from-reading-brothels-name_page.html WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GJyvj8Ns
30-May-06	Police raid on brothels	Milton Keynes Today

ORIGINAL: http://www.miltonkeynes.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=415&ArticleID=1533334 WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GJyvj8O1
JUNE
04-Jun-06	How the new Fagins are bringing child slavery to Britain	Telegraph Olga Craig, Bojan Pancevski, David Harrison

ORIGINAL: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/06/04/ngangs104.xml&sSheet=/news/2006/06/04/ixuknews.html WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GOVFP2AK
04-Jun-06	Hundreds of child slaves sold into UK every year	Telegraph David Harrison

ORIGINAL: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/06/04/ngangs04.xml WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GOWdse87
04-Jun-06	'Slaves' sold at British airports and 'Slaves' sold at British airports	Guardian Unlimited ic Scotland (Press Association)
"Slave auctions" of women sold into prostitution are being carried out on the concourses of British airports
ORIGINAL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uklatest/story/0,,-5863732,00.html WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GOWxZTe3 ORIGINAL: http://icscotland.icnetwork.co.uk/printable_version.cfm?objectid=17173210&siteid=50141 WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GOXSrCOI
04-Jun-06	'Slaves auctioned' by traffickers	BBC News
Airports are being used by people smugglers to hold "slave auctions" of women being sold into prostitution, said the Crown Prosecution Service.
ORIGINAL: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5046170.stm WEBCITE archive: http://www.webcitation.org/5GOXwUfL5