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12/09/2011
Irish Travelers Quizzed Over Slavery Ring
UK police are questioning five Irish people in connection with a suspected slavery ring.
Four men and a woman were arrested yesterday after 200 officers stormed a caravan site in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire.
It is reported that around 24 men were kept there in squalor, and against their will.
The police believe that some of the captive have been kept there for over 15 years. The men, some English and others Eastern European were taken to hospital and later interviewed.
The raid was launched as part of a long-running investigation by Bedfordshire Police, which suggested the men were being held against their will in poor conditions at the site, and forced to work for no pay.
It is understood the five suspects, all residents of the site, are being held in police stations across Bedfordshire. They were arrested using new legislation under the Slavery and Servitude Act 2010.
Those who were held, as prisoners on the site are believed to have been 'recruited' through soup kitchens and benefits offices and included people with problems such as alcoholism.
They were told if they went they would be paid £80 a day in addition to board and lodgings.
According to police reality was very different. When the men arrived on site their hair was cut off them, they were kept in some cases in horseboxes, dog kennels and old caravans, made to work for no money and given very, very small amounts of food.
Detective Chief Inspector Sean O’Neil, from the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire major crime unit, said: "The men we found at the site were in a poor state of physical health and the conditions they were living in were shockingly filthy and cramped.
"We believe that some of them had been living and working there in a state of virtual slavery, some for just a few weeks and others for up to 15 years.
"Because of the number of victims and suspects and the size of the site, we needed the assistance of many officers from specialist units today. We are aware the operation has caused a lot of disruption to the other residents of the site and we thank them for their co-operation and understanding."
(LB/GK)
Four men and a woman were arrested yesterday after 200 officers stormed a caravan site in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire.
It is reported that around 24 men were kept there in squalor, and against their will.
The police believe that some of the captive have been kept there for over 15 years. The men, some English and others Eastern European were taken to hospital and later interviewed.
The raid was launched as part of a long-running investigation by Bedfordshire Police, which suggested the men were being held against their will in poor conditions at the site, and forced to work for no pay.
It is understood the five suspects, all residents of the site, are being held in police stations across Bedfordshire. They were arrested using new legislation under the Slavery and Servitude Act 2010.
Those who were held, as prisoners on the site are believed to have been 'recruited' through soup kitchens and benefits offices and included people with problems such as alcoholism.
They were told if they went they would be paid £80 a day in addition to board and lodgings.
According to police reality was very different. When the men arrived on site their hair was cut off them, they were kept in some cases in horseboxes, dog kennels and old caravans, made to work for no money and given very, very small amounts of food.
Detective Chief Inspector Sean O’Neil, from the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire major crime unit, said: "The men we found at the site were in a poor state of physical health and the conditions they were living in were shockingly filthy and cramped.
"We believe that some of them had been living and working there in a state of virtual slavery, some for just a few weeks and others for up to 15 years.
"Because of the number of victims and suspects and the size of the site, we needed the assistance of many officers from specialist units today. We are aware the operation has caused a lot of disruption to the other residents of the site and we thank them for their co-operation and understanding."
(LB/GK)
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