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Cambridgeshire Police carry out migrant worker raids | Cambridgeshire Police carry out migrant worker raids |
(about 2 hours later) | |
Three hundred officers have carried out early morning raids linked to suspected exploitation of migrant workers. | Three hundred officers have carried out early morning raids linked to suspected exploitation of migrant workers. |
Nine arrests were made in the Wisbech and March areas of Cambridgeshire and King's Lynn in Norfolk. | |
The operation is the biggest of its kind in the county and involved police, the National Crime Agency and the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA). | |
It comes two weeks after a BBC investigation into the treatment of workers picking leeks in the Fens. | |
Those arrested are being questioned on suspicion of various offences, including fraud, at March police station. | |
Among those in police custody is Latvian national Ivar Mezals, who was arrested at a house in Wisbech at about 03:00 BST. | |
Gangmasters Roberto Mac Ltd and Slender Contracting Ltd had their licences suspended on Tuesday, with immediate effect. | |
Clothing and food | |
A reception centre has been set up to accommodate workers, mainly from Latvia and Lithuania, affected by the raids. | |
The Red Cross is offering first aid, clothing and food as well as people for victims to speak to. | |
Cambridgeshire Police said the Salvation Army would help support potential victims of trafficking. | Cambridgeshire Police said the Salvation Army would help support potential victims of trafficking. |
The raids were the culmination of months of investigations by police and the GLA into the exploitation of migrant workers in the Wisbech area. | |
It began when officers looked into the poor living conditions many migrant workers were being housed in. | |
Chief Inspector Mike Winters said the operation was "targeting those who gain from others' suffering". | |
"Victims are promised a better life in the UK with well-paid work but often end up in over-crowded accommodation and immediately placed in debt to a gangmaster who controls their affairs," he said. | |
"They are paid wages well below the legal minimum for extremely long hours and their pay is often taken to service debt on their accommodation." | |
Police said that ahead of Tuesday's raids they had already identified 34 victims, 11 of whom were being given support and protection. |