Domestic slaves rescued by Scotland Yard's new trafficking squad

12 April 2012

Scotland Yard has rescued three victims of domestic slavery in London after four weeks of a new drive against trafficking and forced labour.

Detectives are targeting gangs and individuals who bring people in to the country to work as domestic slaves or force them to work in sweatshops.

The three victims recovered include a 15-year-old girl who was forced to work as a maid, a man held against his will and forced to work in a sweatshop and another woman made to work as a domestic slave. In one case, the victim had been held for four years, forced to work 18 hours a day and made to sleep on a mattress in a kitchen. The victim had been paid just £500.

The Poppy Project, a charity which helps trafficked women, warns there could be many more cases.

The new police squad — codenamed SCD9 — is a merger of the Yard's Clubs and Vice Unit and the Human Trafficking Unit, which was forced to close recently after the loss of government funding.

Detective Chief Superintendent Richard Martin, who leads the new unit, said it would examine domestic slavery for the first time. "We have rescued three victims of domestic servitude since we have been up and running in the last four weeks alone. But because much of it takes place behind closed doors we still do not know how big the problem is."

Detectives are also investigating Eastern European children being trafficked into Britain to work as beggars and Vietnamese children brought in to work in cannabis farms.

Abigail Stepnitz, of the Poppy Project, warned the extent of domestic slavery was still unknown. She said the Home Office was funding a two-year £3.7 million scheme for slavery victims.

Research shows most women come into Britain from Nigeria followed by India, Pakistan and Ethiopia. Many come with legitimate domestic work visas while other groups include trafficked children and even diplomats bringing in people to work as slaves.

Ms Stepnitz added: "People come here expecting to work in domestic labour with the hope of sending money home, but they find they are lied to, paid very little or not at all and forced to work for 18 hours a day.

"Some are forced to engage in sex with the males in the household. Some of the conditions that people find themselves in are really quite horrific."

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