Vietnamese victims of human trafficking rescued after 150 police swoop on nail bars across UK from Berkshire to Yorkshire and arrest ten men and women

  • Six people were rescued by police as a result of the raids across the UK
  • More than 100 officers from three different forces involved in operation
  • Ten men and women arrested on suspicion of human trafficking offences
  • There are an estimated 15,000 nail bars operated by criminals in Britain, according to a press report

By Jennifer Smith for MailOnline

Published: 12:47 EST, 19 March 2015 | Updated: 11:58 EST, 20 March 2015

Human trafficking victims from Vietnam were rescued after police swooped on nail bars across the UK, arresting ten people.

Around 150 officers from three forces across were involved in the raids carried out across 17 shops and residential addresses in London and Berkshire. 

Ten men and women were arrested as a result of the operation on Tuesday morning which followed 18 months of investigation. 

All but one have been bailed pending further police inquiries. 

Police swooped on 17 nail bars and residential addresses across the UK on Tuesday including one salon in Reading (above). Six victims of human trafficking were rescued as a result of the operation 

Police swooped on 17 nail bars and residential addresses across the UK on Tuesday including one salon in Reading (above). Six victims of human trafficking were rescued as a result of the operation 

Thames Valley Police Officers raided three nail bars in Reading, two in Wokingham and one in York in addition to a number of residential addresses. 

They were supported by Metropolitan Police and North Yorkshire Police as part of the operation known as Rehoboam.  

Investigating officer said the effort was part of an ongoing police effort to curb human trafficking in the UK. 

'It is a criminal offence to traffic people into the UK. It is an offence to force people, by threats or coercion, to work unpaid or to pay off a debt. It is an offence to make people carry out acts against their will. 

'The key aim of this operation is to protect vulnerable people. The victims in this investigation have been taken to rest centres where they are being supported by Thames Valley Police, the British Red Cross and the Salvation Army.

'Extra police community support officers will be out on patrol today speaking to residents and businesses to inform them of today’s operation and provide reassurance.'

Ten people were arrested on suspicion of human trafficking offences as a result of the raids. 

Among the nail bars that were raided as part of the operation was this one in the centre of Reading (above)

Among the nail bars that were raided as part of the operation was this one in the centre of Reading (above)

More than 150 officers from three different police forces were involved in the operation which saw 10 people arrested after 18 months of investigation 

More than 150 officers from three different police forces were involved in the operation which saw 10 people arrested after 18 months of investigation 

They are a 33-year-old woman from Berkshire; a 40-year-old man from London; a man and a woman from Wokingham aged 39 and 32 and two men and two women aged 31, 20, 33 and 24 from Reading. 

A 19-year-old man of no fixed address was also arrested as part of the operation. 

It comes after a Sunday Times report estimated around 15,000 nail bars in Britain were controlled by criminals involved in human trafficking. 

Between 2008 and 2013, 100 salons in England and Wales were fined a total of £700,000 for employing illegal immigrants. 

Some of the victims, the majority of which were Vietnamese, said they had been trafficked into the UK and forced into prostitution before taking up work in the salons. 

Speaking of the reported figures, Chloe Setter,  head of advocacy at ECPAT, an anti-exploitation charity, said often workers were trafficked into the salons having been involved in other illegal scenarios.

'Sometimes nail bars serve as a cover for other types of crime and some times they are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to illegality. 

'But with victims working in a public facing role it's important people understand the reality of the trafficking.

'It's important for people to know this is happening on high streets and not just in murky sub-worlds. 

'People are, in some cases, unwittingly using forced labour  and I think they'd be shocked to know the truth.'  

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

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