LONDON (AFP) – British and Romanian police yesterday arrested 14 people in coordinated swoops on alleged organised criminals involved in sex trafficking, London’s Metropolitan Police said.
Police raided several properties in London, including the upmarket Kensington and Chelsea neighbourhood, early yesterday and arrested two men and four women, aged between 25 and 39, the force said.
Those arrested are “believed to be trafficking women from Romania to the UK for the purpose of sexual exploitation by running a purported high-class escort business within London”, it added.
Two Romanian women were found inside the properties and are receiving police support, the Met said, with drugs, cash and a samurai sword also seized.
Romanian police carried out raids on the same alleged organised crime group in Romania, arresting seven men and one woman as well as seizing several luxury cars.
“Unfortunately, this type of exploitation is still happening across London,” said Detective Inspector Jim Madden.
“The Met’s Modern Slavery Team works around the clock to identify people involved in human trafficking and those who are subsequently sexually exploited,” he added.
