Four people have been jailed in London over a trafficking network that brought Thai women to Britain and forced them to work in brothels, the Metropolitan Police said. Woolwich Crown Court handed down the sentences on Friday, September 18, totalling nearly 23 years.
Detectives identified 24 women they believe were exploited by the group. All arrived last year, mostly on what appeared to be ordinary visitor visas.
Police said the women were told they owed tens of thousands of pounds and had their passports taken, leaving many isolated and dependent on their exploiters. They were then taken to brothels in London and Kent and pressed to work off the debts.
One woman was smuggled in from the Netherlands, hidden in the back of a vehicle after crossing the Channel.
The case began last year when officers carrying out welfare checks at brothels linked to a separate inquiry spoke to Thai women. They said a woman they knew as Freya, or Freya Ice Queen, had taken their passports.
That led detectives to a wider group controlling brothels across London and Kent. Police linked 26 brothels to the network, two of them owned by one of the defendants, and visited all of them to safeguard victims. Many of the women had already left by the time officers arrived.
Officers searched seven addresses under six warrants on October 22 last year. They seized £57,145 in cash, a cash-counting machine, designer watches and handbags, and the passports of three of the women.
The longest sentence, seven years and eight months, went to 49 year old Achareeya Spurr from east London, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to traffic people, controlling prostitution for gain and handling criminal property.
Six years and nine months went to 56 year old Chin Ping, also from east London. Four years and four months went to 31 year old Sarunyoo Siriwan from south-east London, and four years to 27 year old Ugur Sahin from north-west London.
The three men were convicted after a trial lasting seven weeks of the same three charges, plus helping a non-UK national breach immigration law. All four also received Slavery and Trafficking Prevention Orders restricting what they can do after release.
A Metropolitan Police detective said the group treated women as commodities to be bought and controlled, profiting from the suffering of women who travelled thousands of miles only to be trapped in debt.
The force set up a reception centre offering the women immediate advice and support. Justice and Care’s Debi Lloyd, head of UK counter-trafficking operations, said the outcome rested on the courage of women who came forward after severe trauma.
In similar news
- Brothel bust: Thai asylum seeker facing seven years behind bars in UK
- Woman convicted of keeping Thai women as sex slaves in Australia
- Thai police rescue missing Chinese actor from trafficking gang
The story Four jailed for 23 years after 24 Thai women forced into London brothels as seen on Thaiger News.
