Operation Netwing
Encyclopedia
Operation Netwing is a long-running United Kingdom
law enforcement endeavour, headed by Bedfordshire & Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit (BHMCU), investigating allegations of forced labour
and human trafficking
in Bedfordshire
, England
. BHMCU is the first combined major crime investigation team in the UK, composed of officers from Bedfordshire Police
and Hertfordshire Constabulary
, established to "give greater capacity for responding to the most serious crimes."
s' site in Little Billington
, Bedfordshire. The allegations led to the launch of the operation, which began with several months of undercover observation and covert intelligence gathering, involving the Serious Organised Crime Agency
's Human Trafficking Centre. Police concluded that the site was "the hub of a multi-million pound trafficking operation that spans beyond the UK", and that some of the men may have been moved to Scandinavia
and other European countries to work.
During 2011 police forces from four other counties in England raided Traveller sites in connection with forced labour and human trafficking.
on 11 September 2011, approximately 100 police officers from BHMCU and other specialist units including the dog section, force helicopter and Authorised Firearms Officer
s, raided the caravan park to execute search warrant
s. As a result, four men and one woman were arrested and a further twenty-four men, all believed to be victims of slavery, were taken from the site. The arrests were made under the provisions of Section 71 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009
, implemented in April 2010 to comply with Article 4 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which made it a criminal offence to hold someone "in slavery or servitude, or requir[e] them to perform forced or compulsory labour." The youngest of the 24 was a 17-year-old boy, who on release went back to his family.
Nine of the freed men later discharged themselves from hospital and refused to assist police with their enquiries. One of the nine accused the police of heavy-handed tactics, saying he had lived on the caravan site for several years working as a paver for £50 a day, claiming many of the other men were similarly paid.
Initial news reports claimed that the police had been warned 28 previous times that captives were being held at the caravan park, or that 28 captives escaped, but officers later explained that this was "a misunderstanding" and that the witness whose allegation had launched the operation in April had told them that 28 people were still being held as slaves. Most of the 24 were said to be have been homeless or suffering from alcoholism. Police also found drugs, money and weapons during the raid.
Of the fifteen freed men helping police, eight were of British nationality, three Polish, one Latvian and one Lithuanian, with two men of unconfirmed nationality, and ranged in age from 30 to 57 years. They were being housed temporarily at a British Red Cross
rest centre set up to provide shelter for them while alternative accommodation was found and other necessary arrangements made. A Red Cross spokesperson said: "Our emergency response volunteers are offering emotional support and giving the men any practical help they need, such as clothing and hygiene kits. We have also provided recreational activities such as games, a radio and DVDs."
On 12 September 2011, the Crown Prosecution Service
(CPS) announced that Tommy Connors (30), Patrick Connors (19), James Connors (34) and James Connors (23) had been charged with "conspiracy to hold a person in servitude and requiring them to perform forced labour" and were remanded in custody to appear at Luton Magistrates' Court on 13 September 2011. A spokesman CPS Thames and Chiltern Complex Casework Unit explained: "These charges relate to four victims who allege they have been held against their will and forced to live and work like slaves." A fifth person arrested, a woman whom police revealed was pregnant, was originally released on police bail to be questioned further following the "imminent" birth of her child. However, on 15 September Josie Conners (30) was charged with four offences related to activites at the Greenacres site. At a subsequent hearing, on 22 September, she was remanded on bail until 5 December 2011, on condition that she remained at home and only left to give birth at Stoke Mandeville Hospital
, Aylesbury
.
Speaking on 12 September Detective Chief Inspector (DCI) Sean O'Neil of BHMCU said: "I am confident that while the investigation is in its early stages this is a family-run 'business' and is an organised crime
group that has been broken up by the Netwing operation." DCI O'Neil explained: "Some of these people have come out covered in excrement and dirty clothing because that was all they were allowed to live in. After being cared for, given food and fresh clothing, we hope to then interview them. That in itself will take a long time because these people are institutionalized. One person we know has been here fifteen years, so to him this is normal life."
Three further arrests took place at the caravan park on 21 September 2011. One of those arrested, Johnny Conners (30), was charged later that day with four offences including, conspiracy to hold someone in servitude, and conspiracy to require someone to perform forced labour. The other two arrested were a woman (61) remanded in custody, and a man (51) who was released on police bail pending medical treatment. Tommy Conners (senior) (51) was subsequently charged on 3 October 2011 with 11 offences of conspiracy to place people in servitude or forced labour.
, MP for South West Bedfordshire, told the House of Commons: "Following this weekend's utterly despicable revelations of the way in which twenty-four of my constituents have been kept as slaves, some for fifteen years, I'd like to commend the robust action of Bedfordshire Police in bringing this to light," and asked the Government to "pay particular attention to the issue of internal trafficking within the UK, given that seventeen of these twenty-four slaves were British citizens." Damien Green MP, Minister of State for Immigration said the incident "came as a shock to many of us. What we saw was effective police action, co-ordinated in many ways by the Serious Organised Crime Agency. The new National Crime Agency
will have among its functions co-ordinating activity against trafficking, both domestic and international, which will give us a much more effective way of combating this particularly vile crime."
Klara Skrivankova, Trafficking Programme Coordinator at Anti-Slavery International
, said: "Slavery and this case which appears to be a case of forced labour is a reality in Britain today but I think what it shows to us is that the police have finally been given proper powers in the new law that has been mentioned in order to investigate and really go after those who are still behaving like slave-masters in the 21st century."
In an article on 16 April 2008 Dr Donald Kenrick, an expert on the Romany language, is quoted as saying "Dossers are people gipsies pick up to work for them. They are sometimes called slaves or servants. ... It is common among Irish travellers, but the English do it as well." However he disputed that they were really slaves, saying that the practice meant that otherwise vulnerable people were being cared for. He said the travellers favoured single men, who were strong workers, but of poor mental health. Several allegations of slavery have been made against the traveller community.
. Covert surveillance of several Traveller sites began in March 2010 and police observed 22 alleged slaves at the Beggar's Roost site.
, where eight alleged slaves were found, and Pleasley, Derbyshire
, where seven alleged slaves were found. William Connors' son John Connors was arrested at the Pleasley site, and his son-in-law Miles Connors at the Enderby site. All four were charged with "conspiring together and with others to hold people in slavery or servitude between April [2010] and March [2011]." It was alleged that the victims were "vulnerable homeless individuals" who were offered accommodation and work and then moved into "virtually uninhabitable" caravans. Prosecuting solicitor Graham Dono told Cheltenham Magistrates' Court: "They then required them to do manual work for excessive hours for payments of no more than £20 a day and in some cases no payment at all. They were given minimal amounts of food. Movements are restricted, mobile phones are not allowed and victims are kept in fear of reprisals if they attempt to leave ... Men would be forced to work for up to 14 hours a day and moved from location to location around the country. It is clear from police videos that the slaves have minimal clothing, they are always dirty and disheveled, they look extremely unhappy and there is evidence of members of the Connors family at the locations in charge of the workers. Victims who had tried to leave sites had been tracked down and returned by members of the Connors family. These victims are extremely vulnerable and are now in a safe house. We say some of them have been indoctrinated for as much as 20 years working in this way. They are people who are clearly fearful. Twenty victims have so far been recovered from the Connors family but inquiries are at an early stage and it is expected there will be more."
, Hampshire
to execute a series of warrants as part of Operation Helm.
, Hertfordshire
, and there found and removed four Chinese nationals (3 men and a woman) and two British men who were suspected of being held as slaves. It is suspected that the four Chinese were illegally trafficked into Britain.
, forced to work all day and then locked in a stable at Crays Hill
in Kent. He was threatened and told he would have to stay for 6 months but managed to escape the next day.
near Mauberge in northeast France on Wednesday 14 December 2005 8 travellers were arrested for keeping 6 slaves and using them for forced harvest work.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
law enforcement endeavour, headed by Bedfordshire & Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit (BHMCU), investigating allegations of forced labour
Unfree labour
Unfree labour includes all forms of slavery as well as all other related institutions .-Payment for unfree labour:If payment occurs, it may be in one or more of the following forms:...
and human trafficking
Human trafficking
Human trafficking is the illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of reproductive slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, forced labor, or a modern-day form of slavery...
in Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. BHMCU is the first combined major crime investigation team in the UK, composed of officers from Bedfordshire Police
Bedfordshire Police
Bedfordshire Police, is the territorial police force responsible for policing the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire in England, which includes the unitary authorities of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Luton. Its headquarters are in Kempston. The county had an estimated population of 602,500 in...
and Hertfordshire Constabulary
Hertfordshire Constabulary
Hertfordshire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Hertfordshire in England. Its headquarters is situated in Welwyn Garden City...
, established to "give greater capacity for responding to the most serious crimes."
Background
In April 2011, a man complained to Bedfordshire Police that he had been "enslaved, frequently beaten and threatened with more violence after being offered work outside a job centre." The allegations centred on Greenacres Caravan Park, an Irish TravellerIrish Traveller
Irish Travellers are a traditionally nomadic people of ethnic Irish origin, who maintain a separate language and set of traditions. They live predominantly in the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States.-Etymology:...
s' site in Little Billington
Billington, Bedfordshire
Billington is a civil parish in Bedfordshire about three miles south of Leighton Buzzard. There are two settlements: Little Billington and one that is now called Great Billington . Its name is recorded in 1196 as Billendon and may come from Anglo-Saxon language Billan dūn = "hill of a man named...
, Bedfordshire. The allegations led to the launch of the operation, which began with several months of undercover observation and covert intelligence gathering, involving the Serious Organised Crime Agency
Serious Organised Crime Agency
The Serious Organised Crime Agency is a non-departmental public body of the Government of the United Kingdom under Home Office sponsorship...
's Human Trafficking Centre. Police concluded that the site was "the hub of a multi-million pound trafficking operation that spans beyond the UK", and that some of the men may have been moved to Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
and other European countries to work.
During 2011 police forces from four other counties in England raided Traveller sites in connection with forced labour and human trafficking.
Greenacres Caravan Park raid
At 0530 UTCCoordinated Universal Time
Coordinated Universal Time is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is one of several closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. Computer servers, online services and other entities that rely on having a universally accepted time use UTC for that purpose...
on 11 September 2011, approximately 100 police officers from BHMCU and other specialist units including the dog section, force helicopter and Authorised Firearms Officer
Authorised Firearms Officer
An Authorised Firearms Officer is a British police officer who has received training and authorisation to carry and use firearms. The designation is significant because within the United Kingdom, police officers do not routinely carry firearms...
s, raided the caravan park to execute search warrant
Search warrant
A search warrant is a court order issued by a Magistrate, judge or Supreme Court Official that authorizes law enforcement officers to conduct a search of a person or location for evidence of a crime and to confiscate evidence if it is found....
s. As a result, four men and one woman were arrested and a further twenty-four men, all believed to be victims of slavery, were taken from the site. The arrests were made under the provisions of Section 71 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009
Coroners and Justice Act 2009
-External links:*, as amended from the National Archives.*, as originally enacted from the National Archives.* to the Coroners and Justice Act 2009....
, implemented in April 2010 to comply with Article 4 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which made it a criminal offence to hold someone "in slavery or servitude, or requir[e] them to perform forced or compulsory labour." The youngest of the 24 was a 17-year-old boy, who on release went back to his family.
Nine of the freed men later discharged themselves from hospital and refused to assist police with their enquiries. One of the nine accused the police of heavy-handed tactics, saying he had lived on the caravan site for several years working as a paver for £50 a day, claiming many of the other men were similarly paid.
Initial news reports claimed that the police had been warned 28 previous times that captives were being held at the caravan park, or that 28 captives escaped, but officers later explained that this was "a misunderstanding" and that the witness whose allegation had launched the operation in April had told them that 28 people were still being held as slaves. Most of the 24 were said to be have been homeless or suffering from alcoholism. Police also found drugs, money and weapons during the raid.
Of the fifteen freed men helping police, eight were of British nationality, three Polish, one Latvian and one Lithuanian, with two men of unconfirmed nationality, and ranged in age from 30 to 57 years. They were being housed temporarily at a British Red Cross
British Red Cross
The British Red Cross Society is the United Kingdom branch of the worldwide impartial humanitarian organisation the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with over 31,000 volunteers and 2,600 staff. At the heart of their work...
rest centre set up to provide shelter for them while alternative accommodation was found and other necessary arrangements made. A Red Cross spokesperson said: "Our emergency response volunteers are offering emotional support and giving the men any practical help they need, such as clothing and hygiene kits. We have also provided recreational activities such as games, a radio and DVDs."
On 12 September 2011, the Crown Prosecution Service
Crown Prosecution Service
The Crown Prosecution Service, or CPS, is a non-ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for public prosecutions of people charged with criminal offences in England and Wales. Its role is similar to that of the longer-established Crown Office in Scotland, and the...
(CPS) announced that Tommy Connors (30), Patrick Connors (19), James Connors (34) and James Connors (23) had been charged with "conspiracy to hold a person in servitude and requiring them to perform forced labour" and were remanded in custody to appear at Luton Magistrates' Court on 13 September 2011. A spokesman CPS Thames and Chiltern Complex Casework Unit explained: "These charges relate to four victims who allege they have been held against their will and forced to live and work like slaves." A fifth person arrested, a woman whom police revealed was pregnant, was originally released on police bail to be questioned further following the "imminent" birth of her child. However, on 15 September Josie Conners (30) was charged with four offences related to activites at the Greenacres site. At a subsequent hearing, on 22 September, she was remanded on bail until 5 December 2011, on condition that she remained at home and only left to give birth at Stoke Mandeville Hospital
Stoke Mandeville Hospital
Stoke Mandeville Hospital is a large National Health Service hospital within Aylesbury Urban Area to the south of the town of Aylesbury, near the village of Stoke Mandeville in Buckinghamshire...
, Aylesbury
Aylesbury
Aylesbury is the county town of Buckinghamshire in South East England. However the town also falls into a geographical region known as the South Midlands an area that ecompasses the north of the South East, and the southern extremities of the East Midlands...
.
Speaking on 12 September Detective Chief Inspector (DCI) Sean O'Neil of BHMCU said: "I am confident that while the investigation is in its early stages this is a family-run 'business' and is an organised crime
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
group that has been broken up by the Netwing operation." DCI O'Neil explained: "Some of these people have come out covered in excrement and dirty clothing because that was all they were allowed to live in. After being cared for, given food and fresh clothing, we hope to then interview them. That in itself will take a long time because these people are institutionalized. One person we know has been here fifteen years, so to him this is normal life."
Three further arrests took place at the caravan park on 21 September 2011. One of those arrested, Johnny Conners (30), was charged later that day with four offences including, conspiracy to hold someone in servitude, and conspiracy to require someone to perform forced labour. The other two arrested were a woman (61) remanded in custody, and a man (51) who was released on police bail pending medical treatment. Tommy Conners (senior) (51) was subsequently charged on 3 October 2011 with 11 offences of conspiracy to place people in servitude or forced labour.
Reactions
Andrew SelousAndrew Selous
Andrew Edmund Armstrong Selous is a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom who has been the Member of Parliament for South West Bedfordshire since 2001.-Early life:...
, MP for South West Bedfordshire, told the House of Commons: "Following this weekend's utterly despicable revelations of the way in which twenty-four of my constituents have been kept as slaves, some for fifteen years, I'd like to commend the robust action of Bedfordshire Police in bringing this to light," and asked the Government to "pay particular attention to the issue of internal trafficking within the UK, given that seventeen of these twenty-four slaves were British citizens." Damien Green MP, Minister of State for Immigration said the incident "came as a shock to many of us. What we saw was effective police action, co-ordinated in many ways by the Serious Organised Crime Agency. The new National Crime Agency
National Crime Agency
The National Crime Agency is a proposed national law enforcement agency in the United Kingdom, serving as a replacement for the existing Serious Organised Crime Agency. The new agency will be launched by 2013 and also include the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre and parts of the...
will have among its functions co-ordinating activity against trafficking, both domestic and international, which will give us a much more effective way of combating this particularly vile crime."
Klara Skrivankova, Trafficking Programme Coordinator at Anti-Slavery International
Anti-Slavery International
Anti-Slavery International is an international nongovernmental organization, charity and a lobby group, based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1839, it is the world's oldest international human rights organization, and the only charity in the United Kingdom to work exclusively against slavery and...
, said: "Slavery and this case which appears to be a case of forced labour is a reality in Britain today but I think what it shows to us is that the police have finally been given proper powers in the new law that has been mentioned in order to investigate and really go after those who are still behaving like slave-masters in the 21st century."
In an article on 16 April 2008 Dr Donald Kenrick, an expert on the Romany language, is quoted as saying "Dossers are people gipsies pick up to work for them. They are sometimes called slaves or servants. ... It is common among Irish travellers, but the English do it as well." However he disputed that they were really slaves, saying that the practice meant that otherwise vulnerable people were being cared for. He said the travellers favoured single men, who were strong workers, but of poor mental health. Several allegations of slavery have been made against the traveller community.
Other related raids at Traveller sites
The 2011 series of police investigations on Travellers' sites began after the decomposed body of Christopher Nicholls, missing since 2005, was found in March 2008 near the Beggars Roost caravan site in Staverton, GloucestershireStaverton, Gloucestershire
Staverton is a village between the city of Gloucester and the town of Cheltenham in Gloucestershire, England, in the borough of Tewkesbury.It is the location of Gloucestershire Airport, which was previously called Staverton Airport and RAF Staverton. It is the home of the Dowty Rotol and...
. Covert surveillance of several Traveller sites began in March 2010 and police observed 22 alleged slaves at the Beggar's Roost site.
Beggars Roost
On 22 March 2011 police raided Beggar's Roost and arrested William Connors (50) and his wife Breda (46).Enderby and Pleasley
Around 27th March 2011 simultaneous raids were carried out at Traveller sites in Enderby, LeicestershireEnderby, Leicestershire
Enderby is a civil parish in the district of Blaby , in Leicestershire, England. It is situated on the south western outskirts of the city of Leicester and has a population of 5,648 at the time of the 2001 census....
, where eight alleged slaves were found, and Pleasley, Derbyshire
Pleasley
Pleasley is a small village in between the nearby towns of Chesterfield and Mansfield, it is 8 km south east of Bolsover, Derbyshire, England and 4 km north west of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire...
, where seven alleged slaves were found. William Connors' son John Connors was arrested at the Pleasley site, and his son-in-law Miles Connors at the Enderby site. All four were charged with "conspiring together and with others to hold people in slavery or servitude between April [2010] and March [2011]." It was alleged that the victims were "vulnerable homeless individuals" who were offered accommodation and work and then moved into "virtually uninhabitable" caravans. Prosecuting solicitor Graham Dono told Cheltenham Magistrates' Court: "They then required them to do manual work for excessive hours for payments of no more than £20 a day and in some cases no payment at all. They were given minimal amounts of food. Movements are restricted, mobile phones are not allowed and victims are kept in fear of reprisals if they attempt to leave ... Men would be forced to work for up to 14 hours a day and moved from location to location around the country. It is clear from police videos that the slaves have minimal clothing, they are always dirty and disheveled, they look extremely unhappy and there is evidence of members of the Connors family at the locations in charge of the workers. Victims who had tried to leave sites had been tracked down and returned by members of the Connors family. These victims are extremely vulnerable and are now in a safe house. We say some of them have been indoctrinated for as much as 20 years working in this way. They are people who are clearly fearful. Twenty victims have so far been recovered from the Connors family but inquiries are at an early stage and it is expected there will be more."
Hamble
On 24 June 2011, John Conners (26), Jerry Conners (19), and Eileen Conners (59) were arrested and charged with offences under section 71 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 after 120 police officers raided a Travellers' site at HambleHamble
Hamble may refer to:* The last frontier film location.* The River Hamble in Hampshire, England**Hamble-Warsash Ferry, a ferry service on the River Hamble* Hamble-le-Rice, a village on the river Hamble, close to the city of Southampton, England...
, Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
to execute a series of warrants as part of Operation Helm.
Pulmer Water
On Friday 16 September 2011 50 police raided a travellers' camp at Pulmer Water near CodicoteCodicote
Codicote is a large village, and civil parish about seven miles south of Hitchin in Hertfordshire, England. It has timber-framed and chequered brick houses, of special interest being the 18th-century Pond House and the half-timbered "As You Like It" Peking restaurant . Codicote Lodge is 18th...
, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, and there found and removed four Chinese nationals (3 men and a woman) and two British men who were suspected of being held as slaves. It is suspected that the four Chinese were illegally trafficked into Britain.
Crays Hill
In a court case in May 1999 one John Williams described how the previous year he was taken from London to BasildonBasildon
Basildon is a town located in the Basildon District of the county of Essex, England.It lies east of Central London and south of the county town of Chelmsford...
, forced to work all day and then locked in a stable at Crays Hill
Crays Hill
Crays Hill is a village in the Basildon borough of Essex, England. The local school is Crays Hill Primary School. The River Crouch passes under Church Lane....
in Kent. He was threatened and told he would have to stay for 6 months but managed to escape the next day.
Hargnies, Mauberge, France
In HargniesHargnies
Hargnies may refer to the following places in France:* Hargnies, Ardennes, a commune in the Ardennes department* Hargnies, Nord, a commune in the Nord department...
near Mauberge in northeast France on Wednesday 14 December 2005 8 travellers were arrested for keeping 6 slaves and using them for forced harvest work.