The vice invasion: Prisoners of Triads

World of organised crime sweeps into Britain

THE FAR EAST

Chinese Triads, particularly the 14K and Wo Shing Wo groups, bring prostitutes to Britain from the Far East and kept them virtually as prisoners in brothels.

Women, some of whom were already prostitutes, while others have been tricked into coming, travel as tourists or illegally on false documents. They are kept about 10 to a house in London, Glasgow, Manchester, and Dublin - most cities with a large Chinese community.

Only Oriental men are allowed into the brothels, where they pay pounds 100 for sex twice in an hour.

The women have their documents taken away and are only allowed outside with a minder. The gangsters threaten to kill their families if they speak to the police. The women have very little English and when eventually deported or repatriated leave with just a few hundred pounds.

The women are believed to be moved around the country every two to four months to provide more choice for the clients.

Others from the Far East have also come to London and contacted brothels, pimps and escort agencies offering to supply new women from abroad. They charge the pimp about pounds 3,000 and the woman pounds 5,000. The women are smuggled in or brought in on a false identity or on a holiday visa.