UPDATED: Three bailed following modern slavery swoops

Picture courtesy of Greater Manchester Police

Dedicated modern slavery officers forced entry to five addresses including a takeaway before sunrise on Wednesday.  

In June of this year (2018), officers received a report that a man had been assaulted and trafficked to work in the UK in unacceptable conditions.

Alongside the British Red Cross and local partners, officers from the GMP’s modern slavery unit executed five search warrants in Manchester yesterday and a further two addresses have been searched.

In recognition that crimes of slavery, human trafficking and exploitation were growing in Greater Manchester, The multi-agency Modern Slavery Coordination Unit was launched as part of Programme Challenger in 2015.

Seventeen people identified in the warrants and are currently with specialists from the police and the British Red Cross.

Three men were arrested, and subsequently bailed pending further enquiries, on suspicion of offences under the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

Detective Inspector Chris Potter of GMP’s City of Manchester Division, said: “Warrants like these are absolutely necessary in disrupting those who take advantage of people for cheap labour, exploit their willingness to work and completely disregard their right to live in a clean and safe environment.

“Our utmost priority is safeguarding those people we believe to be exploited and make sure they have full access to the appropriate support.

“Now, we will focus on examining the items we’ve recovered in our searches and intelligence we’ve gathered in line with our wider investigation, but we need people who have any information whatsoever or those who have spotted the signs of modern slavery, to get in touch with us.

“It’s happening today, and in your area. Help us make it a thing of the past.”  

Anyone with information should contact police on 0161 856 6198 or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

For more information on modern slavery and how to spot the signs, please visit: www.gmp.police.uk/wouldyou  

For more information on programme challenger, please visit: www.programmechallenger.co.uk

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