Sex slaves abroad

Police in England have smashed a large sex slavery network which forced dozens of Thai women to work in at least 16 brothels across London.

Local media in London said that the raids freed more than 30 women who were kept in bondage until they paid an alleged debt of 28,000 British pounds - almost 1.5 million baht.

Two brothers arrested in the case allegedly directed a strong-arm racket which kept the women prisoner, including holding their passports.

Nine Thai gang members were sent to prison for up to two and a half years in the first court intervention in the slavery case. About half of the 30 women rescued in the police raids have already returned home after intervention by the Thai Embassy and Thai Airways International.

London media did not identify the two brothers alleged to be the head of the gang, which apparently smuggled the women into Britain as well as running the brothels.

They used the Internet heavily in their operation, posing the prostitution racket as an escort service, at OrientalGems.com, which has since been closed down.

The brothel sites were in generally up-scale sections of London, including Kensington, Bayswater and Paddington.

Officers believe the network made about 1.5 million pounds a year from the slave racket, using the trafficked Thai women - almost 78.4 million baht.

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By Bangkok Post Agencies