Friday, 4 July 2008

Largest UK Trafficking Operation Sees 500 Arrests

SLUMS: Traffickers often find their targets in destitute areas, such as this slum in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. (Nicolas Asfouri/AFP/Getty Images)

By Damian Robin
Epoch Times U.K. Staff
Jul 04, 2008

In the largest ever UK human trafficking operation, police have arrested over 500 people, rescuing 167 victims, one as young as 14.

The majority of victims recovered originated from China, Southeast Asia, and Eastern Europe. During the operation five victims (three of which were children) who had been trafficked for forced labor were recovered.

The crackdown "was about striking a blow against one of the most distressing aspects of serious and organised crime in this country," said Dr. Tim Brain, the Chief Constable of Gloucestershire Constabulary, who led the six-month operation.

The victims were found among 822 premises, of which 157 were massage parlors or saunas, and 582 were homes.

Begun nine months ago, "Pentameter 2" is a victim-focused campaign and as such victims are intended to be treated with sensitivity and given a range of support.

"What would you do if a victim of human trafficking walked into your station confused, emotional, and desperate for help? How would you communicate with them in the right way to win their trust if they hardly spoke any English?" police officers are asked in an industry magazine.

"Thanks to the recent launch of the UK Human Trafficking Centre (UKHTC), there's now a national team working to make advice for frontline cops more readily available."

"We have also looked at more practical issues, including the availability of interpreters and bed space for any victims," the operation leader said.

The team, overseen by a National Coordination Group based in Gloucestershire, has briefed more than 500 people in key positions throughout the UK in a bid to create a national intelligence picture

Pentameter 2 follows on from Pentameter 1, which took place in 2006 and was the first proactive policing operation to simultaneously involve all 55 forces in the U.K.

Pentameter 1 resulted in 88 victims of trafficking from 22 different countries (primarily Eastern Europe, China/Southeast Asia, Africa, or Brazil) being recovered. 232 people were arrested and 134 charged with a variety of offences.

Tim Brain, Pentameter 2's leader, said, "We must make it clear that human trafficking is not purely an immigration issue. Many of the victims that were recovered in Pentameter 1 were EU nationals. Victims don't need to be moved across international borders for the crime of trafficking to be committed. The movement of a victim for exploitation within the U.K. can amount to trafficking. Victims can also be UK nationals."

In addition to children being trafficked into the U.K. from abroad, British national children or young people can also be victims of trafficking within the UK This is often identified in situations where the victims are moved from one location to another irrespective of distance. This may be actually within a town or between towns and cities in the U.K., very often for the purposes of sexual exploitation.

The annual Trafficking in Persons report, released in early June by the U.S. State Department, estimates 800,000 people are trafficked across international borders each year, about 80 percent of them female and up to half minors. Millions more are trafficked within national borders for labor and sexual exploitation.

"In virtually every country around the world, including the United States, men, women, and children are held in domestic servitude, exploited for commercial sex, coerced into work and factories and sweatshops," Ambassador Mark Lagon said as he presented the report.

In June 2007, the U.S. and UK governments signed a Memorandum of Understanding at the U.S. Embassy in London to improve international cooperation to combat human trafficking.

The year 2007 marked the passage of 200 years since Parliament passed the Act to abolish the slave trade in the British Empire. In the bicentenary year, the U.K. Government indicated a commitment to redoubling efforts to address this modern day form of slavery.

The UK Action Plan was published on March 23 last year, the same day the Home Secretary signed the Council of Europe Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings, the most recent international treaty on human trafficking aimed at protecting and supporting victims.

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