Online sex workers helping snare human traffickers in Scotland

Police Scotland are using innovative new methods to combat rise in international gangs bringing victims to these shores with promise of work.

Police have revealed they are working with online firms advertising sex workers to successfully identify victims of human traffickers who are trapped in Scotland’s sex industry.

It is just one of the innovative strategies adopted by Scotland’s lead sex crimes officer Detective Superintendent Steven Bertram and his team as they target organised crime figures profiting from sexual exploitation.

He said: “We’ve developed a successful co-operation process with firms which provide online advertising for adult services. They have a vastly different perspective on the industry. They say they are making safer spaces for the women who use their services. However, I’m glad to say that some of the bigger sites have been co-operating with us when we have flagged up concerns about human trafficking and exploitation.

“And they’ve given us key information which has helped us identify some of the criminals who use those sites to exploit victims. Some firms even agreed to put up links to support victims looking to exit prostitution.”

Cameron Wilson and Mananchaya Wanitthanawet were convicted of human trafficking offences in Dundee, Aberdeen, Inverness and Edinburgh.

Some 78 women have been found working in the sex industry this year after being trafficked into Scotland from abroad. Last year a total of 88 trafficked women were rescued.

After a lifetime fighting the most despicable crime of all, Bertram has been at the forefront of forging vital international links with countries where most victims are recruited.

Romania, and Vietnam along with some of the most impoverished Eastern European countries, are now working closely with Police Scotland to tackle the exploding global market in human trafficking.

Work is also ongoing with other countries such as Albania and Bulgaria as well as in South America and East Asia. Bertram is delighted international co-operation has led to a series of high-profile cases where the monsters who prey on the vulnerable have received substantial prison sentences.

He said: “We’ve had great success forging links with our counterparts in Romania, with teams going from Scotland to Bucharest, and officers from there coming here to work on secondment to support victims and provide criminal intelligence.

“Because of that, we’ve made progress towards ensuring victims understand that it’s not them we are after – it’s the criminals who prey on them. Without that international co-operation it would be so much harder for us to do our jobs.”

By the time they are found by police, most victims will have been subjected to unimaginable trauma, terrorised by the ruthless criminals who have brought them here, and warned not to speak for fear they or their families will suffer.

That is when international co-operation between the police and third-party organisations comes into its own.

Justice And Care is the worldwide organisation which works with Police Scotland, acting as vital support through their Victim Navigator Programme which has helped free almost 5,300 trafficked women and men in the last year alone.

Bertram said: “We’re very aware that victims are often so terrorised by those who have trafficked them, they fear they may be arrested. They are terrified to speak to the police because they fear their own family may suffer retribution.

“The Victim Navigator Programme developed by Justice And Care helps get the message across to victims, assuring them they need not be afraid of the police. They also provide the kind of support for victims that we simply are unable to do, helping them into new lives or supporting them to return to their own countries.”

Experts believe Scotland has at least 8,000 trafficking and slavery victims. But even that high figure could be far short of the mark as victims are so scared to come forward or are hidden in plain sight.

Bertram said: “Most have absolutely no idea what they will be facing when they arrive here. Some believe they are coming to Scotland to work in retail or an office. But once they get here, alone, frightened and thousands of miles from home, they are told the job they were supposed to have had has fallen through. But they still have ‘debts’ to repay to cover the costs of getting them here.”

While trafficked men are often taken to work in the fishing industry, in restaurants or even the care industry, women are usually pushed into the sex trade with Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee the main targeted cities.

In a high-profile conviction in August, Mananchaya Wanitthanawet, 40, and Cameron Wilson, were convicted of human trafficking offences in Dundee, Aberdeen, Inverness and Edinburgh. Wanitthanawet, who forced two Thai women to have sex with up to 15 punters a day in order to pay off £90,000 “debts”, has been told she could face life when she is sentenced next month.

She and Wilson, a former client, set up in business together and placed the girls in AirBnB flats around Scotland. Traffickers have also set up in smaller towns such as Motherwell, where a Romanian gang of three were caught in a major raid by Bertram’s team.

Florea Sandu, 53, Florian Pietraru, 41, and Teodora Rotaru, 28, were jailed for a total of almost eight years in January for running a human trafficking operation at a property in the Lanarkshire town.

A major undercover operation caught scores of punters on CCTV as they visited the Motherwell flat for sex. A dozen bank accounts were seized showing £250,000 in transactions. The traffickers fled to Romania and the Netherlands but were extradited to Scotland to face justice. So far this year a total of 787 trafficked people have been rescued by Police Scotland. Of those 279 were working as forced labourers, 234 in forced criminality such as cannabis farming and 78 as sex workers.

Bertram said: “Because of the international co-operation we now have, we have been better able to understand how these gangs work, how they go into the rural areas of Romania where poverty is rife.

“They prey on families and groom victims into believing there are opportunities for them here in Scotland. But once they are here, victims are treated inhumanely. They are forced to work many hours to pay off so-called “debts” which are impossible sums to be paid off because the criminals take control of earnings, leaving very little for their victims to live on.

“We’ve seen women taken to work in nail bars as well as the sex industry. We’ve seen young men taken to labour in factory units, growing cannabis. I’ve seen them being forced to eat from dog bowls thrown on the floor, living with no heating, running water or lighting.

“The gangs who control them are ruthless. Humans are not their only currency. They deal in drugs. They are involved in major blackmail. Without international co-operation it would be extremely difficult to do what we do. These criminals have discovered the world has become a much smaller place with international law enforcement now watching them.”

Bertram is also deeply concerned over home-grown organised crime gangs getting into the sex business, with rising levels of poverty a major driver. While red light areas in major cities have moved from traditional commercial districts, numerous websites are offering adult services operating from flats.

Bertram said: “Just to illustrate how big the problem is, I looked at how many adult services adverts were operating at 9am one morning last week. I found 138 live adverts in Edinburgh and 320 in Glasgow.”

50m victims worldwide earning £1bn for criminals

Modern slavery charity Justice And Care warn 50 million people worldwide are victims of modern slavery and trafficking, earning over £1 billion for organised crime.

They believe 100,000 are trapped in the UK, and at least 8,000 of those are in Scotland, working in the sex industry, in nail bars, car washes, as cheap labour in restaurants or in the drug business and on fishing boats. Jamie Fyleman, who heads up the organisation, said: “We are delighted to be working closely with Police Scotland. The victims of this despicable crime are our focus, but by working together with the police we’ve seen a number of successes and believe this will continue.

“Our Victim Navigator Program provides advice and support, we give the police insight from a victim’s perspective, and we help train officers to identify the signs of exploitation which are not always obvious.

“When police raid a brothel, it’s not always obvious who are victims and who are perpetrators. Victims can need support so they understand helping the police not only prevents them being re-trafficked, it can also free others. Successful prosecutions make a difference, and the success rate rises from 40% to over 90% when we are involved, acting as a bridge between the police and victims who hold all the evidence.

“We support victims through the conclusion of court cases and help them access the services to forge new lives.”

The Home Affairs Select Committee into human trafficking recommended that Victim Navigators should be embedded in every police force in the UK, but only the Scottish Government has decided to fully fund that so far.

Fyleman said: “Human trafficking and slavery is one of the worst crimes imaginable. It’s also one of the hardest to catch and successfully prosecute perpetrators. It’s hidden in plain sight, it’s often the public who are first to spot what is going on. But they need to know what to look out for.”

Justice And Care say different men turning up day and night at a flat can be a sign of sexual exploitation. Women showing signs of physical violence or being too afraid to speak are more signs.

Fyleman said: “If something doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t. Report it to the police or call the helpline. Don’t delay.”

Call the Modern Slavery Helpline on 08000 121 700

MSP’s campaign

Alba MSP Ash Regan is pushing for a change in legislation to ensure punters who buy sex are prosecuted along with those who profit.

Her Prostitution Bill, which is out for public consultation, calls for Scotland to adopt what is known as the Nordic approach which has seen countries like Sweden see a decrease in sexual exploitation. She is also calling for victims to be given a legal right to support and care, help to get out of prostitution and for criminal records linked to sex work to be wiped clean to give them the best possibility of securing new lives.

She said: “The Scottish Government has known for many years that the most successful way to deal with prostitution is the Nordic approach, but they have repeatedly failed to take the action needed. We must act now and do what is needed to protect women now and in the future.”