Met unit targets human trafficking

12 April 2012

Gangs who bring women to the UK to sell as sex slaves for thousands of pounds each are to be targeted by a new human trafficking police team, Scotland Yard has said.

The unit was set up to tackle the "significant" problem after police acknowledged a more effective approach was needed.

People - mainly women - are trafficked into the UK from numerous countries including Lithuania and the Baltic States, China, Malaysia, parts of Africa and increasingly South America. In Lithuania, the government considers Britain its number one destination for people trafficking.

Girls as young as 14 are brought to the UK to work in brothels and, increasingly, in anonymous suburban residential areas, making it harder to escape. Detective Superintendent Mark Ponting from the Metropolitan Police said as much as £8,000 could change hands for women who are brought into Britain and sold as prostitutes.

The officer is responsible for the overall strategy of the new Human Trafficking Team which will co-ordinate the Met's efforts to stamp out the practice.

With Home Office funding of £785,000 until April next year, the 11-strong team will provide advice to all those working on trafficking and will focus on organised criminal networks.

Mr Ponting was heavily involved in last year's Operation Pentameter, which removed 84 victims from human trafficking in a series of raids across the country. He said organised criminal gangs were making thousands of pounds through the exploitation of women. "It is an appalling crime," said Mr Ponting. "These traffickers are making huge amounts of money from it and that is what we are trying to break."

He said it was important for victims to give evidence against their captors if possible, but added that many women are often permanently scarred by their ordeals.

"You have to remember the trauma and difficulties associated with this crime. Many of these women are so traumatised that it is just inconceivable they would give evidence in a trial. These women have been held against their will, raped many times and their lives have been ruined. That is why the courts treat this offence so seriously," he said.

Traffickers caught in the UK can expect sentences of 13 or 14 years.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in