UNDERCOVER COPS RESCUE MUM FORCED INTO CITY SEX WORK
A GLIMPSE INTO THE SEEDY WORLD OF TRAFFICKERS
A WOMAN who was forced to work as a prostitute was rescued when undercover police responded to an online advert offering her services in Leicester, writes Suzy Gibson.
The middle-aged victim had left her husband and son in China with the promise of a job in the UK textiles trade, but ended up being trafficked into the sex trade before police came to her rescue in a city centre flat.
A WOMAN who was forced to work as a prostitute was rescued when an undercover police operation responded to an online advert offering her services.
The middle-aged victim had travelled to the UK from China with the promise of a good salary in the garment industry and planned to send money to her husband and adult son back home, but was instead trafficked into the sex trade.
After being met at Heathrow Airport, the unsuspecting woman was then taken to a flat in London and told there was no factory work available and she would instead have to be a masseuse offering sexual services – in order to repay a loan for her airfare and upkeep.
This week at Leicester Crown Court, the man who was in charge of her in Leicester, 26-year-old Wenxin Wu, was jailed for 20 months for his role in her ordeal.
Andrew Howarth, prosecuting, told Leicester Crown Court the woman was given a week’s “training” before being put to work in various flats, where she was supervised by different men she referred to as a “nanny,” who would oversee clients and take the money.
Last September, she was sent to work in the sex trade in Leicester at a flat at Burgess House, Burgess Street, off Vaughan Way in the city centre.
It had been rented by an organised crime group member, who produced a French passport as identity before taking on the two-bedroom apartment for cash.
Leicestershire Police investigated an online advertisement offering the services of “Leicester’s sexiest Japanese tantra babe” – someone who gives erotic massages – and an undercover officer made an appointment over the phone.
The detective was directed to Burgess House and was met by a man – the defendant, Wu – who began escorting him to the fourth floor flat, where the trafficked woman was waiting.
However, in the lift the officer identified himself as the police and alerted his back-up team.
Mr Howarth said: “The defendant tried to make a phone call on his mobile but was stopped and arrested.”
Wu had a key to the flat, where the “frightened” 48-year-old Chinese woman was found.
Mr Howarth said: “The defendant was occupying one bedroom containing male clothes but also items associated with the sex trade – women’s lingerie, a mask and some high heels.
“There was also a two foot long axe under the bed. He wasn’t there to just manage the prostitute, but for protection purposes if needed.
“The second bedroom was where the activity took place, with a bed covered with a single sheet and a light draped with a red cover.”
The woman gave a statement saying she lived in China with her husband and son and had worked in the clothing industry for long hours and little pay.
In 2018, she saw an advert offering the same work in the UK but with shorter hours and for £10-an-hour.
She contacted the organiser, who called herself Mrs Hong, whom she met at a local airport and handed over her passport.
She was told her visa would be sorted out for her and the equivalent of about £11,000 was requested – half of which she borrowed from family and the other half of which was loaned by “Mrs Hong”.
In November 2018, she was met by a Chinese man at Heathrow Airport, taken to a flat and told she was not allowed out and would have to be a masseuse to repay the money she owed.
She was then moved to different locations every two to three weeksweeks.
The prosecutor said: “Each of the premises was controlled by a man she referred to as a ‘nanny’ who would arrange clients and take the money, initially used to repay the debt to ‘Mrs Hong’. “Thereafter, some of money was given to her.”
She had only arrived in Leicester on the day of the police intervention, with her first client not staying because he wanted “someone younger”. Mr Howarth said: “The next supposed client was the police officer.”
Wu, who was also found to have overstayed a UK tourist visa from China, pleaded guilty to controlling prostitution on the day he was due to stand trial, having initially denied the offence.
In a police interview, he said he had been in Leicester for just two weeks, and a different girl had initially stayed at the flat for a few days.
Wu played down his involvement in the vice trade, but the prosecutor said: “The defendant was part of a wider chain. Some messages on his phone related to prostitution including texts: the ‘Has the advert been done?’ and ‘A customer will be here in 10 minutes’.”
Mr Howarth said: “He told the officers he was homosexual, which caused ‘difficulties’ in his country and with his family.
“He came to the UK using his savings and travelled around the country as a tourist – and gave a vague account of acquiring a flat in Leicester – which he said he visited because it had ‘good shops.’”
Mr Howarth added: “The Crown say he was in the flat to act as a nanny in the way the complainant described.”
Shiraz Rustom, mitigating, said Wu was following orders of “organised criminals” and was himself vulnerable.
He said: “There’s a tendency to arrest people at the bottom of the chain and make no investigation higher up. There was no tracing back of any of the calls to him and clearly instructions were texted to Wu.”
The victim was helped by a charity organisation after her plight was discovered and is currently still in the UK, the court heard.
It was also told that the owners of the rented flat in Burgess House were “entirely innocent third parties” who rented out the property via a legitimate city estate agent.
Judge Ebrahim Mooncey jailed Wu for 20 months and also placed him on an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.
The defendant was part of a chain. Some messages on his phone related to prostitution
Andrew Howarth, prosecuting