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National prostitution and trafficking ring 'smashed' by police National prostitution and trafficking ring 'smashed' by police
(about 7 hours later)
A national prostitution ring in which women are believed to have been trafficked to the UK and forced to work in brothels has been smashed, police have said.A national prostitution ring in which women are believed to have been trafficked to the UK and forced to work in brothels has been smashed, police have said.
Officers carried out raids at homes in the Midlands and south of England on Tuesday and Wednesday. Fifteen people were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to manage and control brothels after raids on homes in the Midlands and south of England on Tuesday and Wednesday.
A total of 15 people were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to manage and control brothels. The arrests included four women.
Det Con Ally Wright said it was a "sophisticated and organised" set up. Det Ch Insp Ally Wright said it was a "sophisticated and organised" set up.
"The actions this week are the latest in a coordinated police operation throughout the UK targeting ruthless organised crime groups that use and abuse vulnerable women to make substantial profits," the Warwickshire Police officer said. The Warwickshire Police officer said the ring was discovered after a property in Nuneaton was investigated.
"Searches carried out this week recovered a significant number of phones, cash and banking materials which will allow officers to examine the structure and hierarchy of this organised crime group." 'Threats and violence'
Two homes in Nottingham were raided, two in Warwickshire, and one in Reading, Slough, Wolverhampton, Torquay and London. "Females were, for want of a better way of phrasing it, being rotated on a weekly basis.
"So this raised the prospect that human trafficking or sexual exploitation were the route cause and this led us to other addresses through the country," he said.
Two homes in Nottingham were raided, two in Warwickshire, and one each in Reading, Slough, Wolverhampton, Torquay and London.
Det Ch Insp Wright said those involved abused vulnerable women "to make substantial profits".
"They [the victims] come to this country and go through a process of indoctrination, subject to coercion, some intimidation, some threats and violence.
"By the time they are put out to work, effectively under the control of organised criminals, they are so fearful it's difficult for them to come forward and present themselves as being victims," he said.
Phones, cash and banking details recovered by police during the raids are now being examined as part of the investigation.
The women suspected of being made to work as prostitutes are of Asian origin, a Warwickshire Police spokeswoman said.The women suspected of being made to work as prostitutes are of Asian origin, a Warwickshire Police spokeswoman said.