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2008-11-13 09:38:52
By Chris Summers
BBC News
Nine people from Thailand have been jailed for up to two-and-a-half-years for
their part in exploiting women who were advertised in "online brothels". They
are thought to have made millions of pounds from women trafficked from Asia to
the UK for use in the sex trade.
Every night thousands of men trawl websites in the UK advertising women
offering sex for sale.
Many of them are run by prostitutes, or escorts as they often like to describe
themselves, who are essentially self-employed entrepreneurs using the internet
to cut out the pimps.
But some are advertising women who have been trafficked into the country and
are being exploited for profit.
Oriental Gems was one such "online brothel", which as its name suggested,
specialised in girls from the South East Asia.
A gallery on the site showed photographs of more than 60 naked and semi-naked
women. Many of them were effectively commodities who had been traded and
invested in by "bondholders".
It can't be right in this day and age that young women coming to this country
should be sold off effectively as slaves to work for free until their debts are
expunged
Judge Christopher Hardy
One of the women - advertised on the website as "Helen" - had been "bought"
from her traffickers by a syndicate of two women and a man for 11,000 and then
told she would have to pay her "bondholders" 30,000 to win her own freedom.
Brian O'Neill, prosecuting, said she effectively had to sleep with 300 men, at
100 a time, to buy herself out of a modern-day form of slavery.
Earlier this year the Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, announced plans to
introduce legislation to outlaw paying for sex with someone "controlled for
another person's gain".
It is thought this legislation could be included in next month's Queen's
Speech.
If it becomes law it would mean "punters" would have a legal obligation to
ensure women they pay have not been trafficked.
Scotland Yard launched Operation Gib in December last year after receiving
intelligence that women had been trafficked into the UK and housed in 20
brothels in London.
It followed a smaller scale investigation by Norfolk Police, who found Thai
women being traded in brothels in Norwich.
Raids in April
By April this year the police had enough evidence and launched a series of
late-night raids, which ended in a number of arrests.
Ten people, all from Thailand, were eventually charged with conspiracy to
traffic women within the UK for the purpose of sexual exploitation; conspiracy
to control prostitution for gain or money laundering.
But the prosecution later dropped the trafficking charges and earlier this week
all 10 pleaded guilty to prostitution and money laundering offences.
Southwark Crown Court heard that Oriental Gems was run by Pongpoj
Pitayatanakul, 31, his brother Bordee, 33, and Pongpoj's girlfriend Monthira
Duangthip, 35, all from Guildford, Surrey.
They employed four men as drivers and assistants: Panya Peakaew, 26, from
Paddington, west London, Nopharat Charoenying, 29, and Graipich Vudto, 28, from
Bayswater, central London, and Thatri Pornpaditkong, 27, from central London.
The "bondholders", who effectively owned several of the women and expected them
to pay off their 30,000 debt, were two women, Jirapha Sriwicha, 40, of Hendon,
north London and Sutima Khongpon, 55, and Phanusak Kaewbenjarkarn, 32, both
from Streatham, south London.
The key players were undoubtedly making hundreds of thousands of pounds, all
generated through the exploitation and unhappiness of the women who were the
victims
Det Supt Dave Eyles
Eight of the 10 defendants were illegal immigrants or had overstayed their
visas. Pongpoj Pitayatanakul and Graipich Vudto had qualified for British
passports by virtue of marriages to UK citizens.
Sutima Khongpon was sentenced to two and a half years in prison, Phanusak
Kaewbenjarkarn and Jiripha Sriwicha were each sentenced to two years, Pongpoj
Pitayayanakul was sentenced to 18 months, Bordee Pitayayanakul to 15 months,
Monthira Duangthip to 12 months in prison, Panya Peakaew, Noppharat Charoenying
and Graipich Vudto were all sentenced to 28 days in prison, and Thatri
Pornpaditkong was given a community service order.
Sentencing the 10, Christopher Hardy said Oriental Gems "was exploitation on a
grand scale".
"It can't be right in this day and age that young women coming to this country
should be sold off effectively as slaves to work for free until their debts are
expunged," the judge added.
After the raids the trafficked women were taken to a specialist centre,
equipped with interpreters, health workers and officers trained in sexual
offences interview techniques.
Nine of them, including "Helen", later gave statements to police. Most of them
have since been sent back to Thailand.
"Helen" had been bought out of her slavery by a client, who had paid off the
remaining 20,000 of her debt to her "owners".
Those convicted this week will face confiscation hearings and eight of them
will be deported back to Thailand.
Last week another gang were jailed for up to 14 years for trafficking women
around the UK and using them for prostitution.
That gang, led by Ali Arslan, a 43-year-old Turk, peddled dozens of women, the
youngest a 16-year-old virgin from Slovakia.
Detective Superintendent Dave Eyles, from Scotland Yard's Clubs and Vice Unit,
said: "Those who have been identified as key players in Operation Gib were
undoubtedly making hundreds of thousands of pounds, all generated through the
exploitation and unhappiness of the women who were the victims in all this."
A Home Office spokeswoman said: "The UK has a comprehensive victim-centred
strategy in place to tackle human trafficking.
"In January we launched a short-term review to explore what more we can do to
tackle the demand for prostitution.
"We have also invested 5.8m in the Poppy Project over the last six years to
provide high-level specialist support for victims trafficked into sexual
exploitation.
This includes safe accommodation; advocacy; access to counselling; access to
legal advice; interpretative services. Victims are provided with support for an
initial thirty-day period whilst they consider their options."