Northamptonshire and Romanian arrests made as officers raid modern slavery gang

Arrests have been made in Northamptonshire and Romania as officers hit a modern slavery gang operating in the county. It was carried out on Wednesday (April 27) in order to “free those under its servitude” police have confirmed.

Starting at 4am, 25 properties were entered by police officers over the course of the morning – 12 in Corby and 13 in Romania. The joint operation was between Northamptonshire Police and the Romanian Police, with support from the East Midlands Special Operations Unit (EMSOU), Europol and Eurojust.

Believed to be active since at least 2018, the gang is an “organised and sophisticated crime group” that lured vulnerable people in unstable financial situations in Romania by offering them jobs in the UK. However, once they arrived in the UK, ID documents and phones would be taken and the victims forced to work 16 hours a day, seven days a week, without sufficient food or basic health care.

The suspects established a wide network for the recruitment, transportation, accommodation and exploitation of victims. They formed links with local companies such as factories and commercial car valeting sites, where the victims would be forced to work for little or no wages at all.

All salary payments made would be withdrawn by the gang and violence was threatened to family members back in Romania should any of the affected people speak up. The gang would then use this money to fuel a luxurious lifestyle, paying for expensive goods and investing in property ventures back in Romania.

They would also direct the victims’ money through a number of their own businesses in an attempt to conceal their criminal profits. Personal details were also falsely used to complete fraudulent financial applications in order to secure more money.

In November 2021, Eurojust approved a joint investigation team between Romania and the UK to tackle the gang under the name Operation Booker. This was the first one ever to be secured by Northamptonshire Police, demonstrating the scale of the force’s commitment in tackling exploitation and protecting victims of slavery.

Following the 26 warrants executed on Wednesday as a result of this task force, seven arrests were made – four in Romania and three in the UK. A total of 27 people have also been identified and safeguarded since the operation began, and a large quantity of cash, designer goods and mobile phones were seized. Two air weapons were also taken away.

Detective Chief Inspector Nick Cobley from Northamptonshire Police’s Serious and Organised Crime Team, said: “I’m very pleased with the results of this joint operation. The team have been working on it for the past 18 months so to see arrests made in both countries and a number of people safeguarded is brilliant.

“This is a great example of international collaboration in order to effectively target and prevent organised crime. The victims, in this case, have been subjected to an absolutely horrendous ordeal – they were taken away from their home country with the promise of a better life but it was all a lie.

“They were severely exploited – their finances were taken away from them, they weren’t given access to enough food and basic health care, they had no support network to lean on, and were subjected to repeated threats of violence. To get some of these individuals onto a better life is a great result and I want to reassure the community that we will continue working hard with our partners to progress this case even further.

“Finally, I want to use this opportunity to appeal to anyone who may have information on modern slavery to contact us. It’s not always obvious but if you see something that doesn’t seem right and you think that people may be being exploited please contact either ourselves or if you wish to remain anonymous – Crimestoppers on 0800 55511.

“We would rather make enquiries into a well-meaning report that turned out to be nothing than to not be called at all.”

Source: (Northants Live)