Ref:25/06 February 21, 2006
OPERATION PENTAMETER

Trading in modern day slavery will not be tolerated and the organised criminals behind human trafficking can expect to be caught and brought to justice, ACPO and ACPOS announced today.

A nationwide campaign to tackle the illegal exploitation of trafficking victims, ‘Operation Pentameter’ will see police, the travel industry, Government and partner agencies across the UK and Europe working together to free innocent victims of this abhorrent crime and tackle the organised criminals responsible for their trafficking and sexual exploitation.

Senior representatives from the travel industry today met with Chief Constable Tim Brain, the ACPO lead on Prostitution and related vice matters, to discuss ways in which police and industry can work together to tackle this heinous crime and request the vigilance of those working in the travel industry. Staff will be asked to report to police and immigration officials any suspicious activity in order to prevent exploitation and crack criminal gangs.

Police officers will also be conducting a high profile operation at major ports across the UK today, greeting travellers arriving from Eastern European source countries and handing out specially designed business cards containing helpful contact numbers for people who may be afraid that they are victims of trafficking. This work will be supported by a longer term poster campaign in a number of languages asking the questions:

 Do you know where your journey is leading?
 Do you have your passport?
 Do you know who you are meeting?
 Did you arrange your own travel?

The poster will include the Crime Stoppers number for those who are scared or unsure.

Dr Tim Brain, ACPO lead on Prostitution and Chief Constable of Gloucestershire Constabulory, said:

“Trafficking victims travel to this country, usually under false pretences, and are forced into a life of vice against their will. They suffer horrific abuse, often being forced to see up to 40 clients a day and trapped in very damaging, kidnap-style situations. Recovering and assisting these victims is always the most important aspect of operational activity.

“Victims are arriving from all over the world, but whatever their origin, whether by aeroplane, ferry, train or coach, they all arrive in the UK by public transport. It is clear therefore, that the success of the preventative aspect of the operation is dependant on the co-operation of the Travel Industry. Assistance from the travel industry in combating what in effect is both modern day slavery and an affront to human rights cannot, therefore, be over emphasised.

“I would like to thank all forces in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland for their continued efforts to stamp out this abominable crime and support it’s victims.”

Home Office Minister, Paul Goggins, said:

“This new Home Office funded operation reflects the ongoing high priority which the Government and police place on disrupting and combating human trafficking.

“This appalling crime, often for the purpose of sexual exploitation or forced labour, will not be tolerated in this country. The Government is determined to tackle and reduce the terrible harm it causes not only to victims, but to society as a whole.

“Much work is already underway. We have introduced tough legislation, established effective multi-agency working through Operation Reflex, and given support to victims through the Poppy Scheme. We published on 5 January 2006 a national action plan to tackle trafficking.

“I congratulate all the agencies involved – including the police and voluntary agencies – for all their efforts to combat this dreadful crime.”

Natalia Dawkins, POPPY project manager, said:

“Eaves welcomes the key messages of Operation Pentameter. Posters placed at entry points to the UK will hopefully encourage potential victims of trafficking to think twice before placing their trust in others and ask pertinent questions about ‘employment’ in the UK. The posters will provide vital safety information and ensure victims know how to seek help, advice and support to escape their traffickers.

“Women who are trafficked have had their basic human rights removed; they have been sexually exploited not only through prostitution, but also in the wider aspects of the commercial sex industry.

“Eaves is pleased to be working with key agencies who aim to help eradicate the trafficking industry and ensure that those affected have access to specialist services. We hope that initiatives such as Operation Pentameter will result in a greater awareness of trafficking, a reduction in the number of people vulnerable to trafficking and increased referrals of those already trafficked, to organisations such as the POPPY project who are able to provide the necessary accommodation and support to escape this abhorrent trade.”

Director of Public Prosecutions, Ken Macdonald, QC, said:

“Recent successful convictions have shown that the CPS and police can work together to tackle these large, complex investigations which cross national boundaries and bring to justice the evil people who traffic in human misery - no matter where they are from.

“The CPS is engaged at local, national and international level in fighting human trafficking. Our lawyers receive training on immigration and trafficking offences and legal guidance has been rewritten to give prosecutors up to date reference material when considering what charges should be brought. We also hit the criminals with the law twice over - once with a prosecution and once by taking their ill-gotten gains. They treat this evil trade as business and when we confiscate their assets, we show it's a business we are determined to stamp out.”

ENDS

Notes for Editors

 The ACPO Press Office can be contacted via 020 7227 3406/3425 (office hours) or via 07803 903686 (out of office hours).

 The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) is an independent, professionally led strategic body. In the public interest and, in equal and active partnership with Government and the Association of Police Authorities, ACPO leads and co-ordinates the direction and development of the police service in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In times of national need ACPO, on behalf of all chief officers, coordinates the strategic policing response.

 ACPO’s 312 members are police officers of Assistant Chief Constable rank (Commanders in the Metropolitan Police and City of London Police) and above, and senior police staff managers, in the 44 forces in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, plus national agencies such as NCIS and the National Crime Squad, and other forces such as British Transport Police and States of Jersey Police.

 Reflex is the Government’s multi-agency taskforce. It seeks to disrupt and dismantle organised crime groups involved in people smuggling and human trafficking. It has also undertaken work to raise awareness and develop enhanced intelligence and operational capacity within the police forces in the regions. Reflex has been successful in disrupting groups and bringing the perpetrators to justice.

 Operation Pentameter is a joint venture with hands on involvement from the Home Office, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Immigration Service, National Criminal Intelligence Service, Crown Prosecution Service and several non-government organisations.

 Operation Pentameter is a national operation looking at the trafficking of women and children for sexual exploitation. It is an initiative under the banner of Operation Reflex, a multi-agency task force which focuses on tackling organised illegal immigration crime including trafficking. Pentameter involves all ACPO and ACPOS area forces, the Home Office, NCS, NCIS and HMIS.

 In the main, victims are women and children originally from Eastern European countries including Lithuania, Romania, Estonia and Poland. It is believed that they are often enticed to the UK under the guise of a respectable-sounding job in childcare or waitressing, only to discover upon arrival that they are sold into sexual exploitation or other forms of slave labour and their passport is taken away from them.

 On 5 January, the Government launched a three month consultation on a national action plan to tackle trafficking which received broad positive media coverage. This plan will take a comprehensive end-to-end approach covering the different elements of the anti-trafficking strategy:
· Prevention and demand reduction - including support for projects that tackle the causes of trafficking in source and transit countries;
· Investigating and prosecuting the traffickers - including raising the knowledge levels of the extent of the problem among police and frontline staff at home and abroad;
· Protection and support for victims - including exploring the possibility of providing border control agencies with profiles of trafficking victims to aid identification and appropriate support.

 Pentameter posters have been printed in English, Russian, Lithuanian and Latvian.

 Funded by the Home Office and the Association of London Government (ALG) the POPPY project is the first project in the UK to provide support and housing to women who have been trafficked into prostitution. POPPY can provide accommodation and support for up to 25 women (currently under review). Women are accommodated in flats and shared houses across London.

 POPPY combines direct services, support and advocacy with research, development and lobbying. This allows the project to bridge the gaps between theory, practice and the need to influence strategy. The project is part of the registered charity Eaves Housing for Women.


CPS CASE STUDIES

CASE ONE: R v Merdanaj & Bregu

The first prosecution for human trafficking into and within the UK for the purpose of sexual exploitation was heard at Sheffield Crown Court and ended with the convictions of Albanians Taulent Merdanaj and Elidon Bregu in December 2004.

Merdanaj, 27, was jailed for 18 years and Bregu, 19, for nine years, in December 2004, just seven months after the Sexual Offences Act 2003 came into force.

In total, Merdanaj was convicted of 13 offences, including rape, false imprisonment and causing or inciting prostitution, as well as human trafficking for sexual exploitation both into the UK and within the UK. Bregu was found guilty of false imprisonment and trafficking within the UK for sexual exploitation.

The two men kept two women as prisoners in a flat in Sheffield, forced them to work as prostitutes and subjected them to sexual attacks. The women were accompanied to and from work and kept under constant supervision to prevent them from escaping.

The women only escaped from the two men when they started a rumour that guns were kept in the house which led to a police raid.


CASE TWO: R v Larcenko & Others

In September 2005, Viktoras Larcenko, 24, was jailed for 10 years after he pleaded guilty at Southwark Crown Court to conspiracy to traffic in prostitution and conspiracy to launder money. This followed the earlier convictions after trial of four other gang members, including his sister Rita, 20. In total, the gang was sentenced to 51 years.

Viktoras and Rita had set up a network taking advantage of girls who wanted a better life but who subsequently found themselves working 14 hours a day in brothels and massage parlours. Two of their victims managed to escape after befriending fellow Lithuanians in a cafe and sneaking off with them.
But in August 2004, Rita Larcenko and three Lithuanian men spotted the pair and tried to kidnap them in a car. One managed to escape and raised the alarm with the public's help and the police were called.
Rita and three other gang members who ran the brothels were convicted after trial in April 2005 for offences which included rape and living on the earnings of prostitution.

Viktoras Larcenko was sentenced to 10 years; Rita Larcenko to 14 years for conspiracy to traffic in prostitution, conspiracy to kidnap and money laundering;
Jason Tai, 39, to 15 years for conspiracy to traffic in prostitution, rape and living on prostitution; Dan Ket Duong, 45, to 30 months for conspiracy to traffic in prostitution; Salina Abdul-Rahim, 40, to three years for money laundering and exercising control over prostitution.


CASE THREE: R v Barjami & Others

Three men who lured a 15 year old girl to England with a promise of a summer job selling ice cream but who sold her as a sex slave were sentenced to a total of 40 years’ imprisonment at Sheffield Crown Court in March 2005.

The girl finally escaped when she went to the ladies’ toilet in a Sheffield pub where three women befriended her. She explained what had happened in broken English and two of the women went outside and distracted Barjami while the third took her to the exit where she made good her escape. She ran barefoot to the nearest police station and later gave evidence against the men who made her a sex slave.

Just two days after she arrived, the girl had been sold for £4,000 and put to work in a brothel in Birmingham. She had five “clients” the first night. She was sold on to various men in different parts of the country several times, ending up being sold to Barjami, who lived in Sheffield.
Shaban Maka, 24, originally from Macedonia, Ilir Barjami, 25, from Kosovo, and 21-year-old Albanian Xhevahir Pisha, were all found guilty of various trafficking charges and were jailed for 18 years, 15 years and seven years respectively

CASE FOUR: R v Plakici

The CPS referred the sentence of 10 years passed on Luan Plakici, convicted of organising a human trafficking ring, to the Attorney General for consideration as unduly lenient. The sentence was referred by the Attorney to the Court of Appeal and in April 2004, the Court of Appeal more than doubled the sentence from 10 years to 23 years.

This was the first time the Court of Appeal had to consider a case involving the trafficking of women.

In December 2003, after a four-month trial at Wood Green Crown Court, North London, Albanian-born Plakici, 26, was convicted on 15 counts of assisting unlawful immigration, living on prostitution, kidnapping, procuring a girl to have unlawful sexual intercourse and incitement to rape.

The police investigation began when one of the victims, aged 17, escaped from the house in Palmers Green where she was being kept. She and her sister, aged 20, were first introduced to Plakici in Romania in October 2002. They were promised entry into the UK and work in a bar. In fact they were forced into prostitution.

The Metropolitan Police uncovered a sophisticated network with ready access to false documents, money, accommodation and transport. Seven victims gave evidence at the trial. They were aged between 17 and 24 years old at the time. The women were brought over from Eastern Europe via the Czech Republic, Italy and France. Four victims were from Romania three from Moldavia.