TWO MEN and two women are due to appear in court in Belfast today in connection with a UK-wide police operation against human trafficking that resulted in the closure of 13 brothels, seven of them in Belfast.
Twelve women and three men, who were allegedly being compelled to engage in prostitution, were “rescued” in the operation, according to the PSNI.
Detectives from the PSNI’s organised crime branch with officers from other British police forces took part in the operation on Friday to “rescue victims of organised crime gangs involved in human trafficking”.
Much of the focus of the crackdown called Operation Apsis was in Belfast. Two men and two women were arrested. They were questioned over the weekend and are due to appear at Belfast Magistrates Court today.
A 21-year-old woman and the two men, aged 33 and 46, face charges of trafficking for sexual exploitation, controlling prostitution, brothel keeping and money laundering. A 22-year-old woman faces charges of controlling prostitution.
The primary aim of the operation was to “rescue” victims, both UK and foreign nationals.
Det Chief Supt Roy McComb, head of the PSNI’s organised crime branch, said those rescued were being treated “with a tremendous amount of care” by various support agencies. For operational reasons he said he could not give a breakdown of how many human trafficking victims were found in the Belfast raids.