Slavery in the UK on the the rise as gangs 'brand' their victims: Number rose by a fifth last year with some being sold for just £200

  • The number of victims smuggled in Britain has soared by a fifth 
  • They are treated 'like cattle' by modern slavery gangs who tattoo them
  • Research suggests there were 2,744 victims of human smuggling last year
  • A fifth of those are children who are forced to beg and work as prostitutes
  • Victims are bought and sold for as little as £200 and put to work in fear 

Thousands of people are being treated ‘like cattle’ by modern slavery gangs who tattoo them and force them to work for a pittance.

The number of victims smuggled in Britain has soared by a fifth as organised criminals cash in on the lucrative market in human misery.

They are expanding their operations from the sex trade and drug factories into hand car washes and bogus doorstep charity collections.

Scroll down for video 

Thousands of people are being treated ‘like cattle’ by modern slavery gangs who tattoo them and force them to work for a pittance

Thousands of people are being treated ‘like cattle’ by modern slavery gangs who tattoo them and force them to work for a pittance

Victims are bought and sold for as little as £200 and put to work in fear of violence against them and their families.

Many are Eastern Europe children brought into the country to join street begging gangs while their handlers steal their generous benefits.

Adults are duped into travelling here, often through recruitment websites or even dating agencies, with the promise of better paid work or education.

But when they arrive they are forced to work as prostitutes, on illicit cannabis farms, as construction labourers or on isolated farms.

There is also a growing number of British victims, many of whom are homeless and vulnerable, who are enslaved by travellers who use them as cheap labour.

Liam Vernon, of the National Crime Agency (NCA), said: ‘This is an insidious and complex crime and much of the exploitation is hidden from view.

‘Victims are being forced to work in private houses and hospitality, farming, manufacturing and construction industries. In many cases, threats and violence are used.’

Asked about crime gangs tattooing their victims, he added that numbers or other symbols are used to ‘signify ownership’.

He added: ‘It’s a branding it’s as simple as that. You brand cattle, I can put it in no more stark terms.

‘That is how offenders view people – as a commodity that can be bought and sold. That comes at the price of misery and real physical and psychological harm.’

Research by the UK Human Trafficking Centre, part of the NCA, estimates there were 2,744 victims of human smuggling last year, compared with 2,255 in 2012.

Victims came from 86 countries worldwide, with most trafficked victims from Romania and Poland.

Shockingly, a fifth of all those enslaved, 602 victims, are children, many of whom are forced to beg, into prostitution or to work as domestic slaves.

Almost all of those cruelly brought to Britain to milk the benefits system while begging on the streets are from Slovakia.

There is also growing evidence of victims being forced to work on hand car washes, which have mushroomed on disused petrol station forecourts.

The men are houses in cramped and dirty multiple occupancy homes while being forced to work long hours for little or no pay.

Others are trafficked into the country to steal charity bags for organised groups who make huge sums reselling them to the rag and scrap industry.

Police have discovered some gangs are creating their own fake bags to imitate legitimate charities or intercepting genuine collections.

In June, a woman who exploited vulnerable Lithuanian immigrants to work door-to-door collecting ‘Dreams Come True’ charity bags was jailed for three years.

Jurate Grigelyte, 53, offered her victims good jobs and accommodation but left them to go hungry while working for as little as £25 a day.

Surprisingly, one in 14 victims of trafficking are British, including many homeless people conned into working as cheap manual labour by traveller families.

Some are even sent to work in Sweden and Norway where they spend 14-hour days paving roads and driveways.

In 2012 several members of the Connors crime family were jailed forcing homeless drug addicts and alcoholics forced to work as slaves.

The travellers lived luxurious lifestyles at the expense of their victims who were paid £5 a day for heavy labouring work and often hosed down as a punishment.

Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer, who has national responsibility for tackling slavery, said no part of Britain is ‘immune’ from the crime.

He said: ‘As our knowledge and understanding of this abhorrent crime grows it reinforces the need for continued and improving efforts to protect victims and bring offenders to justice.’