A people-smuggling gang linked to 26 brothels across London and Kent has been jailed for trafficking 24 Thai women into Britain and forcing them into prostitution.
Achareeya Spurr, known as “Freya” or “Freya The Ice Queen”, was sentenced to seven years and eight months. Chin Ping, Ugur Sahin and Sarunyoo Siriwan were also jailed, taking the gang’s combined sentence to 23 years.
The group targeted Thai women and arranged their travel to the UK, often under the pretence of legitimate visitor visas, Woolwich Crown Court heard.
After arriving, the women were taken to brothels and coerced into sex to repay alleged debts which in some cases had risen to tens of thousands of pounds. Their passports were typically confiscated, leaving them isolated and dependent on the gang.
Some of the women were smuggled across the Channel from the Netherlands in the back of lorries. Detectives found that at least one victim had entered the UK in this way.
Many victims told police their passports had been taken by a woman they knew as “Freya” or “Freya Ice Queen”. Officers identified 24 women believed to have been exploited by the group after arriving in Britain last year.
Metropolitan Police investigation
The gang was uncovered after officers from the Metropolitan Police’s modern slavery and child exploitation team searched seven addresses last October.
Police seized £57,145 in cash, a money-counting machine, designer watches and handbags, mobile phones, SIM and bank cards, as well as three victims’ passports.
Spurr, 49, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit human trafficking, conspiracy to control prostitution for gain and acquiring, using or possessing criminal property.
Ping, 56, Sahin, 27, and Siriwan, 31, were convicted of all the charges after a seven-week trial. The three men were also found guilty of facilitating a breach of UK immigration law by a non-UK national.
Detective Constable Kathryn Horne, of the Metropolitan Police, said: “This was a sophisticated criminal enterprise that targeted women for financial gain, treating them as commodities to be bought, controlled and exploited.
“The defendants profited from the suffering of women who had travelled thousands of miles to the UK, only to find themselves trapped in a cycle of debt, control and sexual exploitation.
“I would like to thank the victims for their courage throughout this investigation. Their accounts were crucial in bringing those responsible to justice.”
Ping was jailed for six years and nine months, Siriwan for four years and four months, and Sahin for four years.
Debi Lloyd, head of UK counter-trafficking operations at Justice & Care, said the victims had shown “incredible courage” by coming forward and taking part in the criminal justice process.
She said: “After experiencing such significant trauma, this takes enormous strength. This case also shows what is possible when agencies work together around the individual, combining a determined law enforcement response with consistent, specialist support.”
Ms Lloyd added: “Victims deserve to be heard, believed and supported to make their own choices, while those responsible for serious abuse and exploitation are held to account.”
