12:21pm Thursday 2nd July 2009
By Claire Marshall
A COUPLE believed to have made millions managing a network of brothels have links to the Dursley area, it has been revealed.
A large-scale police operation organised by the Metropolitan Police, with the help of Gloucestershire and Surrey police forces, was carried out yesterday to crackdown on the owners of an empire of brothels that used women trafficked into the country to work in the sex trade.
The investigation centred on a couple believed to have used mainly trafficked women to staff at least four brothels in London and the Home Counties.
The pair were arrested at an address in Leatherhead where £5,000 in cash, three Mercedes and a Vauxhall transporter were seized. Two Lamborghinis, also believed to belong to the couple, were also found in workshops.
As part of the operation police visited two properties belonging to the couple in Dursley and North Nibley. Four brothels around the country were shut down where women, mainly from East Europe and East Asia, were rescued. They are thought to have been working at the brothels for little or no payment.
Seven people were arrested and seven victims rescued.
Police believe that the women worked everyday from 11am to 10pm and may have been told that they must pay off a substantial debt to the brothel owner in return for free passage to the UK. This is normally an incredibly high sum of money which victims have no chance of paying off.
Det Chief Supt Richard Martin, head of the Met's Clubs and Vice Unit, said: "The experiences of the women that are forced into prostitution are absolutely dreadful.
"These are some of the most vulnerable people that we come across within our operations and they need and deserve our protection.
"Rescuing these victims and tackling those who organise and profit from this awful trade is our key priority."
*A 55-year-old woman and a 43-year-old man were arrested in Leatherhead and remain in police custody.
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