Two arrested in 'gangmaster' raid

Police arrested a King's Lynn man and searched his house

Police have arrested a King's Lynn man after a series of raids across the UK in connection with alleged illegal labour networks.

A police spokesman said the Ukrainian man was one of two men seized on Thursday in the Norfolk town.

Police said the unidentified man, a father of two, came to England as an asylum seeker about four years ago.

A second man, also believed to be Ukrainian, was also being questioned by police after the raids.

At about 0600 GMT, police turned up at the first man's £250,000 five-bedroomed house, which stands behind an electric gate and several security cameras.

They entered before emerging shortly afterwards with the householder, who was taken to Thetford police station for questioning.

One of the suspects is patted down by a police officer

Investigators then searched the man's house, which has several vehicles, including two Mercedes cars and three vans parked in the drive.

Det Insp Paul Cunningham of Norfolk Police, who co-ordinated Operation Absent, said the raids across the country had been a "huge success".

He said they had required extensive planning and liaison between police forces in Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Scotland.

King's Lynn has become home to a large community of migrant workers in recent years.

Hundreds of Chinese workers live in the town and work on nearby farms harvesting produce.