Police stage raids to crack down on ‘slave labour’

POLICE investigating human trafficking in Solihull have targeted a suspected brothel and a car wash in Chelmsley Wood suspected of using slaves.

Officers said no victims came forward at either location after this week’s raids but warned that labour exploitation was happening across the borough with some workers earning as little as £4 an hour.

The Solihull Partnership said: “One location in Shirley was suspected of providing sex services, while another in Chelmsley Wood suspected of using slaves to wash cars.

“We visited with Immigration. No victims came forward. However, it’s worth noting that labour exploitation is present across Solihull with individuals at various locations being paid as little as £4 an hour to undertake a variety of work.”

In February Solihull Police investigated three car washes in Solihull after more concerns were flagged up about labour exploitation.

Officers swooped on one site off the Stratford Road in Shirley as well as another two in the suburb though, again, no arrests were made.

One of the car washes has now re-opened.

Sgt Tim Evans, from the Solihull Partnerships team, said: “We are committed to making sure our communities can live and work in safe conditions and as part of our ongoing work to identify and combat slave labour we are continually checking the businesses that run within our area.”

Cheap car washes are pop- ping up in supermarket carparks, on wasteland and on old petrol stations offering cheap valeting and washes from as little as £3.

There are now thought to be about 19,000 car-wash operations in Britain employing up to 200,000 people.

Many workers do long hours every day for very little pay, usually cash in hand.

The Car Wash Advisory Service (CWAS) insists that since 2007 it has been working to bring about change in the UK vehicle washing industry.

It said: “Currently we have a UK wash industry that is fragmented and overrun by unregulated vehicle washing sites and many of these are in this position because they do not have an understanding of what is legally required of them but many more of them simply use wash sites as a vehicle for illegal acts such as modern slavery, money laundering.”

Kevin Hyland, the anti-slavery commissioner said: “I want to see the police doing what they are there for, pursuing the criminals behind modern slavery and putting them behind bars.”

Modern slavery can be found in a wide range of industries including restaurant work, car washes, nail bars, farms and factories, brothels, building sites, traveller sites, private homes, cleaning companies, care homes and managing cannabis farms.