Brothel raids in Kosovo

Hundreds of NATO-led peacekeepers and United Nations police in Kosovo have raided a string of brothels in the town of Kosovo Polje just outside the provincial capital, Pristina.

Search teams made simultaneous night raids on eighteen buildings which they said they believed were being run by Serb and ethnic Albanian gangs trafficking in sex slaves and hard drugs.

Twelve women from Moldova were rescued and are now being questioned.

A police spokesman for the UN Derek Chappell said it was a shame that communities which found it so hard to work together legitimately were happy to co-operate when it came to exploiting others.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service