British detectives investigating the murder of a young boy whose torso was found floating in the River Thames gave arrested a gang suspected of bringing children into Britain illegally.
In a dramatic early morning operation, more than 200 officers raided nine addresses in east and south-east London. Twenty one people were arrested on suspicion of immigration and people trafficking offences.
Police believe the 21, who are all Nigerian nationals, are involved in bringing children and adults from west Africa to Britain via Europe - the route they suspect was followed by the murder victim discovered by Tower Bridge in September 2001.
Named Adam by detectives, the unknown boy, who was between four and seven, had been mutilated in what police believe was a ritualistic sacrifice, possibly by the African black magic "muti" cult.
A team of 12 police in riot gear stormed a pebble-dashed Victorian end-of-terrace in Devonshire Close, Stratford, east London, at exactly 6.30 a.m. They used a mini battering ram to smash open the front door of the bay-fronted property before detaining three occupants - two men and a woman.
An internal door was also knocked down in the raid.
Officers then searched the house and two were seen examining a junk pile in the back yard.
Commander Andy Baker, of Scotland Yard, said everyone arrested in today's operation would be DNA tested to see if there was any family link with Adam, whose torso measured just 18 inches by 8 inches and was discovered naked apart from a pair of orange shorts which could only be bought in Woolworths stores in Germany.