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Documented on the original SlaveryMap (2008–2016). We don’t have a verifiable source on file yet. Know one?
What happened
A young man befriended the 16 year-old girl in Lithuania, where he introduced her to his “friends” at a nightclub. They offered her an exciting, all expenses paid, ‘Sport’s Trip’ to London. She forged a permission letter from her parents, and the men took her to Sheffield where she was sold – they confiscated her ID card which proved she was 16. She was then sold to four/five Albanian brothers (ages 21, 22, 32, 33) who were operating a brothel in Hounslow, London. They told her she had to work to pay for the cost to transport her from Sheffield to London. The brothel operated 24/7 and the girls were given one day off a week. Girls were told that they would receive a share of their profits once the debt had been paid off. She was given a fake name and was allowed to make occasional phone calls to her family in Lithuania, but was too frightened to tell them about her situation. The gang also occasionally sent £100 or so, which the prosecution argued was to imply that the girl was doing well in the UK. The girl reports that she was forced to sleep with as many as 10 men per day, and earned her traffickers around £800 per day. She received no money.
Response and intervention
Metropolitan Police rescued the girl that had been reported missing. They suspected that more girls were being trafficked so initiated surveillance of the brothel/gang. They identified a further 5 houses in Hounslow, Isleworth and Feltham, which were also being used as brothels. A series of raids were conducted in April 2005, where further girls were rescued. All 5 men were convicted of sex trafficking offences. The girls’ family in Lithuania became worried and engaged the help of a ‘missing persons’ television show in Lithuania. A team from BBC News flew to Lithuania to interview the family who then alerted the Metropolitan Police. The Police were already aware of the Hounslow brothel. They raided it on 12/2004 – the girl was not there, but a poster advertising “new beautiful ladies at very good prices” led them to another nearby brothel where she was found and interviewed. She was subsequently flown home to her family in Lithuania. Unknown – the girl was flown back to her family in Lithuania.