Women rescued in trafficking op

People smugglers force women to work in the sex trade

More than 50 people have been arrested in a UK-wide police operation against sex trafficking.

Officers rescued 14 women, including a 15-year-old girl, after investigations in Greater Manchester, Hampshire, Lancashire and Northumbria.

Police involved in Operation Pentameter said women were allegedly forced into prostitution against their will.

The 14 alleged victims are aged from 15 to 39 and come from a range of eastern European countries.

The countries included Lithuania, Ukraine, the Czech Republic and Poland, as well as Brazil and Zimbabwe.

We continue to work hard in establishing the extent of this vile crime in the UK Pentameter's programme director, Grahame Maxwell

The women were interviewed by specialist officers.

Warrants were executed in brothels, massage parlours and private homes across the UK.

The arrests were made over a period of one month since the operation was launched in February.

Pentameter's programme director, South Yorkshire Police Deputy Chief Constable Grahame Maxwell, said: "None of the cases have been dealt with through the courts at this early stage, but what is clear is that we have a number of potential victims.

"We continue to work hard in establishing the extent of this vile crime in the UK, because it is covert by its very nature."

Operation Pentameter involves all 55 police forces in the UK, the Republic of Ireland and Channel Islands.

Police have asked men who use prostitutes to be on the look-out for women who may have been lured into the sex trade against their will.

Clients who do so will not face prosecution.