—Pete Brook, writer and curator of Prison Photography

Slavery is not an issue confined to history, or an issue that exists only in certain countries. It is a global problem that is still happening today, and the UK is no exception.

In 2017, there were 5,145 recorded victims of modern slavery in the UK. This number counts only for those that were encountered, who then testified. This, coupled with slavery’s hidden nature means that actual numbers are far higher.

* Scientific Adviser for the Home Office Prof. Bernard Silverman, estimated there to be 13,000 slaves in the UK today. This estimation is referred to as the dark figure of modern slavery.

Modern slavery and human trafficking transcends age, gender and ethnicities, and spans across industries such as agriculture, health care and the sex trade, to name a few. Although it may be difficult to determine what problems exist where, it is certain that modern slavery exists everywhere.

This is the dedicated website that documents neighbourhoods where victims have been identified as modern day slaves.

The Dark Figure* has been produced by documentary photographer Amy Romer, who has also written the accompanying stories through her own investigations using press materials. The project has been used by the UK Home Office, the British Police, UK councils and NGOs, as a training resource to help identify how to spot the signs of slavery.

The Dark Figure* is being published by the independent photobook publisher Another Place Press. It is currently available to pre-order. Get your copy here.

Media coverage for The Dark Figure*

Bad Ass Gal: 2018 nomination for The Dark Figure

Fotofilmic: 2017 International Touring Exhibition

Prison Photography: In Britain, the Slavery Next Door: In Conversation with Amy Romer

Vantage: The Slavery Next Door: In conversation with Amy Romer

International Slavery Museum, Liverpool: Slavery “could be happening next door to you”

LeftABit: The Dark Figure

PhotoGrad: The Dark Figure feature

The Dark Figure*

2014

When Elvira’s husband became very sick and couldn’t work, she used an employment agency to find work abroad. She was sent to Qatar, but the family paid her less than agreed in her contract and refused to give her any days rest. They told her the contract was only a piece of paper and didn’t mean anything.

After one year in Qatar, her employers promised she could go home to see her family if first, she went to work for one of their sisters, who lived in London. They flew with her to London, ensuring any questions at immigration could be answered without causing suspicion.

Elvira was taken to a flat near Harrods in central London. She was made to work long days, without rest, sleeping on the floor by her employer, who would call her a “dog” in Arabic. She was given only a piece of bread and a cup of tea each day, and was never allowed outside, except with her employer. Elvira was unable to run away because she had her passport taken from her.

Elvira used a phone to connect to Facebook. A friend referred her to a federation of Filipino workers in London. One morning when her employer was napping, she took the phone, found the keys to the front door and ran outside. She hid at a nearby church and phoned the federation.

Elvira is waiting for her case to go to trial.

***

March 2014

61-year-old Emmanuel Edet and his wife, 58-year-old Antan Edet were arrested by London police in their home in Perivale, North West London, after their “houseboy” Ofonime Sunday Inuk heard a radio report about modern slavery, and called a charity asking for help.

Emmanuel Edet, a former NHS obstetrician and Antan Edet, a senior midwife, trafficked Inuk, an orphan from Nigeria in 1989, telling immigration officials he was their teenage son.

For 24 years Inuk worked unpaid for up to 17 hours per day looking after the couple’s two sons and performing domestic duties such as cooking, cleaning and gardening. He was made to sleep on the floor of the hallway. After confiscating his passport, the couple told Inuk if he were to leave the house he would be deported as an illegal immigrant.

November 2015

The Edet’s were found guilty of child cruelty, servitude and for the assistance of unlawful immigration. Each have been sentenced to 6 years imprisonment.

Although the mistreatment of Inuk spanned 24 years, servitude only became an offence under the Coroners and Justice Act in 2009, so their conviction and sentencing for servitude can only count for injustices from 2010 to 2013.

***

November 2013

Metropolitan Police from the Human Trafficking Unit arrested 73-year-old Aravindan Balakrishnan, and his wife, 67-year-old Chanda Pattni at their residential address in Brixton. They were investigated for slavery and domestic servitude.

Three women had escaped from the same residence one month before, having been held against their will for more than 30 years. Aishah Wahab, a 69-year-old Malaysian woman and Josephine Herivel, a 57-year-old Irish woman met Balakrishnan, known as “Comrade Bala” in London through a shared political ideology. He was the former Maoist leader of the Workers’ Institute of Marxism–Leninism–Mao Zedong Thought. Rosie Davies, a 30 year old British woman spent her whole life in servitude under Balakrishnan.   

The women were not physically restrained, but held by subjection to brainwashing, emotional abuse and physical abuse. Police were tipped off from a charity supporting victims of forced marriage, after receiving a phone call from the women who had been watching the ITV documentary Forced To Marry.

December 2015

Balakrishnan was convicted of child cruelty, false imprisonment, 4 counts of rape, 6 counts of indecent assault and 2 counts of assault. Chanda Pattni, was released earlier in 2014, as the court considered there  to be insufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction.

Balakrishnan was sentenced to 23-years imprisonment in January 2016.

***

Holborn and Russell Square are home to two of the largest and most popular soup kitchens in London, and are well known trafficking hubs.

Christian: Guys came round, old gypsy guys. They said, ‘Do you want a job? Can you do a bit of labouring?’ I said, ‘How much are you going to pay?’ ‘We’ll pay you when the job’s finished.’ We drive down to this remote place and there’s a shed. He said to me, ‘You’re going to sleep in that shed.’

Traffickers will often wear high-vis jackets and arrive in vans or cars, aware that homeless and unemployed people will congregate at certain areas at certain times. This provides them with the opportunity to make a selection based on vulnerability. Alcoholics are commonly targeted and are provided with alcohol and cigarettes in exchange for a ride, with no information as to where they are going or why.

Nigel: They fed me, that was it. That was the only thing they did do, you know what I mean? They said the money would be there at the weekend. I went, ‘Make sure my money’s there, you know what I mean?’ I said, ‘I just want my money. I work hard, I just want my money, that’s all I want.’ Come Friday, I fronted them, they surrounded me – ‘Just get back in your caravan.’ They threatened me. They said, ‘Go back in your caravan or we’ll dust you up,’ they said. It was a bit terrifying, wasn’t it, you know what I mean? I mean you don’t want to beat twenty people. They’re nasty people, they’re just nasty people.

Men from 18 to 60 have been targeted from this area and are largely exploited in the block paving and tarmacking industry as well as areas such as agriculture, food processing and factory work.

Transcript: Street Slaves, File on 4, BBC Radio 4.

***

2012

3 Lithuanians working for D.J. Houghton Catching Services in Linton, Maidstone, visited a nearby Citizens Advice Bureau to ask for help after experiencing severe mistreatment from their employers, a local couple, Darrell Houghton and Jacqueline Judge.

The couple supplied chicken catchers to hundreds of poultry farms across the UK, including many of the largest factory farms producing eggs for leading supermarkets and high street fast-food chains.

A chicken catcher can catch up to 6000 birds per hour on farms that house more than one million birds. Work is usually carried out in the dark, to keep the birds calm. Legal limits restrict how long birds are allowed to be kept in crates awaiting slaughter, so most farms use agency labour, and will call for workers at short notice. The Houghton’s would send their workers as far as Penzance, unpaid, sometimes for only 2 hours work in unsanitary conditions without sufficient personal protective equipment or clothing. Toilet break requests were denied and their destination was always unknown. No food or drink was ever provided.

The Houghton’s advertised their jobs online and used a Lithuanian associate to arrange for the men’s travel to the UK. They promised good wages and accommodation, but were immediately debt-bonded on arrival. Victims were told, once in the UK they were to pay an illegal £350 “work-finding fee”, which was deducted from their wages, along with £40 or £50 rent per week. The accommodation they provided was overcrowded and dirty. They did not have a bed, shower, or adequate food for days at a time. They were subjected to intimidation and abuse, all the while being severely underpaid. The men were also denied their wages for reasons such as leaving a mug unwashed, or if they were seen out on their nights off.

2015

Of the 6 men working for the Houghton’s between 2008 and 2012, 3 have been officially recognised as victims of trafficking for labour exploitation. The Houghton’s were arrested but not charged. They told local media that they are blameless and that the allegations are untrue. The Houghton’s did admit to paying a Lithuanian national to find workers for their chicken catching business.

December 2016

A Lithuanian man was arrested by the Klaipeda County Police in Lithuania for human trafficking. It is suspected the man gained up to £90,000 in 3 years for human trafficking.

In a new legal landmark, 6 survivors have sued D.J. Houghton and its directors in the high court for damages. The survivors won the settlement, worth more than one million pounds in compensation for unpaid wages, distress, personal injury and consequential losses. It is the first such case that a UK company has been sued for modern slavery related offences.

10 other claimants are now expected to bring similar cases against D.J.Houghton.

***

March 2014

A 23-year-old man from Bournemouth was arrested in connection with slavery offences after residents from Ringwood Road told local journalists they had seen mini buses of different men come and go from the garage. Their concerns were reported to the police.

6 victims, aged between 20 and 30, were found on site, but the 23-year-old was released without charge.

A police spokesperson said that, following “extensive interviews with the men working there and consultation with other agencies, it was concluded that the offence of slavery had not taken place.” The working regime in operation at the garage remained under investigation.

***

November 2014

Police arrested 53-year-old Jurate Grigelyte at her property in Easton, Bristol, after a school raised concerns about the welfare of a 6-year-old boy, who was the son of a victim of human trafficking and forced labour, working under Grigelyte.

Grigelyte trafficked Lithuanian nationals to the UK with the promise of good employment and accommodation, but instead would lock victims inside cramped, squalid properties, only allowing them to enter and leave through a window.

The victims, many of whom spoke little to no English, worked for Grigelyte’s charity bag business collecting donations and sorting through clothing. They were transported around the South West in vans with no seats or windows. A typical working day lasted from 5am to 6pm. Grigelyte promised workers £25 per day, but would deduct money for rent, travel and various fines, often leaving workers debt-bonded, with no money for food.

Debt Bondage is the most widespread form of slavery in the world. A person becomes a bonded labourer when their labour is demanded as a means of repayment for a loan. The victim is then tricked or trapped into working for very little or no pay, to repay debts their employer says they owe. Often, the victims’ identification is taken, and bank cards are controlled, limiting any hope of freedom.

June 2015

Grigelyte was sentenced to 3 years imprisonment after admitting to 10 charges of facilitating entry into the UK with a view to exploiting labour, 10 charges of human trafficking and one count of forced labour.

***

February 2010

Police in Bristol raided a residential property on Ash Road, after neighbours complained of what smelt like a strong smell of chest-rub coming from the property next door. Three Vietnamese “gardeners” were found locked inside the property along with 900 cannabis plants in what was described by police as “an extremely professional set-up.” The three men spoke no English and were arrested at the scene.

Six months later the men were found guilty of producing a class C drug with conspiracy to distribute.

Their employers remain unknown.

Cannabis cultivation is the second most common form of criminal exploitation. Most often, victims are Vietnamese, 81% of which are children.

Victims of criminal exploitation are too often mistaken as the criminals themselves, making the business even more attractive to behind-the-scenes gangmasters. Victims often speak little or no English, hold no identification, and are therefore extremely vulnerable to exploitation.

***    

February 2010

A disused NatWest bank was raided by Bristol Police, seizing its largest ever haul of cannabis plants, worth one million pounds. Two Vietnamese “gardeners” were found hiding in the plants and were arrested at the premises.

28-year-old Trung Vu and 30-year-old Hoang Dang had been living secretly in a cupboard beneath the stairs and were not allowed to leave the building. Detailed instructions had been left by their gangmasters, describing how they were to tend to 2,028 cannabis plants spread across 10 rooms and 4 stories of the disused building.

Trung Vu pleaded guilty to producing cannabis and abstracting electricity and was jailed for 4 years and 6 months. Hoang Dang pleaded guilty to producing cannabis and was jailed for 2 years and 9 months.

The gangmasters of the two men remain unknown.

***

September 2014

8 men were arrested on suspicion of trafficking persons into the UK for the purpose of labour exploitation at 5 properties across 3 neighbourhoods in Plymouth. 8 victims were recovered along with 13 children, all of whom were believed to be linked to the suspects.

The investigation was launched after one of the victims walked into the local police station in March 2014 to report his position of exploitation. He told police that he and others had been forced to provide  labour for little or no money, having been trafficked into the country by an organised crime gang. All men were Czech nationals and were forced to work at various locations including carwashes in Plymouth, factories in Cornwall and as domestic servants for the gang. The men were made to sleep in a garage, urinate into bottles, and were only allowed to eat outside.

Following the arrests, only 2 victims were willing to come forward and tell their stories to the police. This is common in cases of modern slavery. Victims are often scared of authority and have been conditioned not to speak by their gangmasters. Without witnesses, traffickers and gangmasters are often released through lack of sufficient evidence, and victims will return to their gangmasters through fear or lack of an alternative.

2017

4 women from the same family of those arrested, forced key prosecution witness Josef Bukovinsky to retract his original statement during trial, saying he was “under the influence of psychotropic substances, such as Pervitin and other substances, which had such an impact on my mind that I was unable to concentrate and make a statement based on the truth.” He also spoke of the corrupt practices of his investigating officers and of his interpreter.

Such irregularly in a key witness’ statement forced the investigation to broaden and become one of the largest and most complex of its kind. The 4 members of the defendants family also stood trial and were found guilty in the largest ever conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and derail a human trafficking prosecution.

Of the 8 men arrested for trafficking persons into the UK for the purpose of labour exploitation, 5 were jailed for a total of more than 20 years.

***

May 2008

The discovery of the remains of a body was found in a garden shed near Bamfurlong Lane, triggering a year long investigation, including a 5 month surveillance operation of the Connors family traveller sites.

The body was that of Christopher Nicholls, who had been working for the Connors for 3 years and was reported missing by his parents in 2005. He was struck by a car in 2004.

March 2011

Gloucestershire Police carried out warrants at three properties in Gloucestershire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire. 19 vulnerable people were found living at Beggers Roost caravan park in Cheltenham, living in squalid conditions and were subject to assault, theft of benefits, and exploitation.

Survivor Mark Ovenden reported he was heading to his local soup kitchen in Bournemouth when a white van pulled over ahead of him. The driver approached him and offered him a job near Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire. He was taken to Beggers Roost and subjected to modern slavery for the next 2 years of his life.

Some of the rescued men had been kept at the Connors property for up to 30 years and having been institutionalised, did not recognise themselves as victims.

5 members of the Connors family were charged with offences involving the serious mistreatment of people who, because of their personal circumstances, had little option but to remain with the Connors. All 5 members of the Connors family were found guilty of the conspiracy to require a person to perform forced or compulsory labour between April 2010 and March 2011 and are facing a maximum sentence of 14 years.

***

2000

33-year-old Darrell Simester from Worcestershire lives with autism. While hitchhiking alone on a family holiday in South Wales, he was picked up from the side of a dual carriageway and taken to Cariad Farm in Peterstone, near Newport.

For the next 13 years, Darrell Simester lived in a rat infested shed and then a cold, squalid caravan on the property of David Daniel Doran, and was made to work 16 hour days for no money, with only a horse trough to wash in.

Darrell Simester would call his family twice a year, telling them he was working on the roads, often from withheld numbers and with voices in the background telling him what to say. In 2008, he made his last phone call. Darrell tried to escape but the Doran’s found him in Cardiff and told him if he tried to escape again, they would kill him.

2014

Darrell Simester’s family found Darrell at the Doran’s farm following a social media campaign. They barely recognised him in his malnourished, oppressed state.

In October 2014, David Daniel Doran was jailed for 4 1/2 years after pleading guilty to forcing Darrell Simester to perform forced or compulsory labour.

***

June 2015

20 people were arrested at 3 farms on Wentloog Avenue, Peterstone, for offences including forced labour and money laundering.

13 victims aged between 23 and 56 were found in caravans including 2 British, 8 Polish and 3 Romanian.

Case ongoing.

If there are reasonable grounds to believe that a person is a victim of human trafficking, they will be referred to the government’s National Referral Mechanism (NRM), which provides suspected victims of trafficking 45 days of support, in which time they must cooperate with police to receive continued support. It is then up to the government to make a “Conclusive Decision” as to whether the individual in question is a victim of human trafficking.

If the individual is found to be a victim, they may be granted discretionary leave to remain in the UK for one year, to allow them to co-operate fully in any police investigation and subsequent prosecution. If the referred person is confirmed not to be a victim of trafficking, it is likely they will be referred to a law enforcement agency, police force or to the UK Border Agency.

***

September 2014

A search warrant was obtained by Lincolnshire Police to search a traveller site owned by the Rooney family in the rural village of Drisney Nook, Linconshire, where 18 victims were found between the ages of 18 and 63, living in squalid conditions.

The victims, who had lived in servitude at the site for up to 25 years were previously homeless, had learning difficulties or complex alcohol and drug issues. They were targeted and picked up by the Rooney’s from various locations across the UK, and taken to properties in Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and London. The victims were provided with no running water or toilet facilities, and were controlled through threats of starvation and physical violence. One victim described how he was beaten with a shovel and left injured in a caravan for days, as punishment for returning a car with no petrol. Another victim was made to dig his own grave if he did not agree to a lifetime of servitude.

September 2017

Nine members of the Rooney family were found guilty of modern slavery offences and were sentenced for a collective total of 85 years.

***

August 2015

Hungarian police were contacted by a young woman after her friend had telephoned from the UK to say that she needed help.

Greater Manchester Police were contacted via Interpol and were given the address of Margit Biddel who was subsequently arrested under suspicion of trafficking and exploitation.

Biddel had encouraged a 22-year-old woman to travel to the UK for work. Once in the country, Biddel used psychological aggression to intimidate and control the victim, who was made to work as a prostitute in Piccadilly, Manchester.

The victim found herself isolated from anyone she knew, unable to speak English and in fear that she, or her family may be harmed if she contacted home.

Biddel would arrange the victim’s transport to Piccadilly where she earned up to £400 a night. The majority was taken off her by Biddel.

February 2016

Biddel was found guilty of arranging and facilitating the travel of another person with a view to exploitation. She was sentenced to three years imprisonment.

Biddel was also given a slavery and trafficking order with a number of conditions to protect the public and prevent her from engaging in this type of criminality in the future.

***

July 2013

A 36-year-old Latvian woman arrived in the UK with the belief that she would be given a job on a mushroom farm. Instead, she was taken to the house of Hanan Butt and Jekaterina Ostrovska in Slough, and was then moved to Birmingham where she was introduced to Mohammed Akmal, whom she later married in a false Islamic ceremony, witnessed by Rashid Ahmed.

The victim was moved to two addresses in Longsight, Manchester. At the first address, she lived in a small attic bedroom which was locked, while Akmal’s family lived in the main house. The second address had metal grates over the windows and she was not allowed to use the telephone or leave the house without being supervised.

The victim was found after she tore off a partial address from a piece of mail and rang her mother who informed Interpol.  

November 2015

Mohammed Akmal and Rashid Ahmed were both found guilty of conspiracy to seek to remain leave in the UK by deception. Akmal was sentenced to 1 year 8 months, while Ahmed was sentenced to 9 months imprisonment.

Hanan Butt and Jekaterina Ostrovska both pleaded guilty to human trafficking for exploitation. Butt was sentenced to 2 years and 8 months, while Ostrovska was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months imprisonment.

Women are commonly trafficked and forced into sham marriages with men, who are seeking to apply for residency in the UK. Victims, who are often from poverty stricken countries, are recruited by organised crime gangs, before being sold to potential grooms.

***

March 2015

Two Hungarian women, aged 21 and 30 were found by Police at a terrace property on Spa Road in Bolton. They had been trafficked one year previously by the Dardai family, also Hungarian, who enslaved the women by forcing them into prostitution.

Daniel Dardai, Ferenc Dardai, Ferenc Dardai Jr., and Melania Kiraly were arrested and charged for modern slavery offences.  Dardai Jr. set up profiles for the two women on adult websites. When clients called, he and his father would tell the women what to say. The victims were forced to see up to five clients a day.

One of the women told the court that she was made to eat with separate cutlery so she would not pass on any infection. She was given only bread, butter and salami, sometimes only once a day.

The women were beaten daily by Dardai Jr. and his mother. They were forced to hand over the money they made, which was approximately £150 per day. They were also told they could not leave until they had earned more money. One of the victims said Dardai Jr. had on occasions strangled her for not smiling enough for clients, and she had fainted after beatings.   

All family members pleaded guilty at Bolton Crown Court for sexual exploitation of the women. Dardai Sr., who claimed in court that he had been directed by his sons, was sentenced to 4 years imprisonment. His son, Daniel Ferenc was sentenced to 3 years in a young offenders institute. His brother Dardai Jr. was sentenced to 6 years. Dardai Jr’s wife Kiraly was jailed for 4 years and 6 months for conspiracy to commit a sham marriage.

***

March 2016  

Two men and one woman were arrested and charged for servitude after a dawn raid at the factory of wholesale chicken supplier Bolton Poultry Products.

Six workers were found and have been identified as possible victims of human trafficking and forced labour. It is suspected that the workers were living on site. One man was found hiding inside a shipping container which contained makeshift beds made from tables, whilst another was found sleeping on top of concrete with bits of cardboard in a boiler room.

Charges were dropped against former director of Bolton Poultry Products, Ebrahim Dalal. His son and daughter-in-law Said Dalal and Anisha Dalal, both directors of Bolton Halal Chicken continue to face charges.

Case ongoing.

***

January 2016

A male victim of human trafficking and modern slavery informed Nottinghamshire police of his trauma working for the sportswear retail giant, Sports Direct.

Erwin and Krysian Markowski, two brothers from Nottingham, had been recruiting vulnerable men in Poland, promising accommodation and a good wage, through the employment of a Polish spotter, whose sole job was to identify the most vulnerable seeming people. 18 men were identified as victims of trafficking, and have been described as having learning difficulties with a history of being raised in care homes, whilst others were orphans and appeared to have limited understanding.

The brothers paid for the men to travel to the UK, but when they arrived, their passports were taken from them. The men were verbally and physically threatened, and on occasion they were beaten, in order to ensure absolutely no contact to the outside world.

The brothers controlled their recruits’ bank accounts, keeping most of their wages for themselves, totaling £35,000 between 2015 and 2016. One man was promised a flat to live in, but was instead provided with a urine sodden mattress.

January 2017

After pleading guilty to conspiracy to arrange travel with a view to exploitation and fraud by false representation, both Erwin and Krystian Markowski were sentenced to six years imprisonment for modern slavery offences.

July 2017

Sports Direct was been named in 2 further court cases, prosecuting 3 criminal groups in total for modern slavery offences, through the recruitment of victims to the the Shirebook warehouse.

Dariusz Parczewski was convicted for forced labour and fraud, relying on slave labour by using victims’ identities to carry out nearly £1m in benefit fraud. He too used a spotter in Poland to traffic victims to the UK.

***

March 2016

Police received a phone call from an 18-year-old man who stated he was being held in domestic servitude and was being forced to work at an address in Old Street.  

Tomas Maslulis and Edmundas Zigmantas were arrested for offences under the Modern Slavery Act 2015. Six further arrests were made at the same address for organised crime related theft.

Maslusis was charged with kidnapping and false imprisonment, with the intention of committing human trafficking and knowingly holding another person in slavery or servitude. Zigmantas was charged with knowingly holding another person in slavery or servitude.

Maslusis and Zigmantas have been remanded into custody and are due to appear before Tameside Magistrates Court.

Case ongoing.

***

December 2014

Brothers Mohammed Anjum Iqbal and Mohamad Najum Iqbal, Mohammed Zafar and Edward Fawcett were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to require another person to perform forced or compulsory labour and of conspiracy to commit trafficking offences after police raided a picture framing factory in Rochdale.

20 workers were discovered at the factory, 13 of whom were from Slovakia, and were all believed to be victims of forced labour and human trafficking.

Of the 13 victims, it was confirmed that 10 were living in a small terrace house on King Street, in dangerous and squalid conditions. It was alleged that the victims who lived there were paid £25 for an 80-hour week, after deductions were made for rent and travel.

June 2016

After a 6-week trial, Fawcett was found not guilty, by order of the Judge. The Iqbal brothers and Zafar were also found not guilty.

***

2004

A number of local fishermen were called in by the coastguard to help with the rescue of 24 Chinese cockle pickers that were trapped by the sweeping tides. Within a few hours, 20 bodies had been recovered and only 1 man was found alive.

Morecambe Bay holds a 28-mile tide. Locals told the press that the disaster was avoidable had the cockle pickers known the geography of the area. Instead, they were unable to navigate a safe route off the cockle bed.

The workers had been imported unlawfully via shipping containers into Liverpool where they were hired through local criminal agents of international Chinese Triads.

Morecambe locals had rescued large groups of stranded Chinese cockle pickers in previous years, but rather than act as a warning to both gangmasters and authorities, the booming cockling trade meant the industry was heavily under-regulated, so workers could be easily exploited.

In May 2004, the 21st body washed ashore.

January 2006

Gangmaster Lin Liang Ren was found guilty of the manslaughter of at least 21 people, breaking immigration laws, and for conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. He was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment.

Ren’s girlfriend Zhao Xiao Qing and cousin Lin Mu Yong, were both found guilty of facilitating illegal immigration and for perverting the course of justice. They were sentenced to 7 years and 6 months between them.

Business owners of Liverpool Bay Fishing Company Ltd. David Anthony Eden senior and David Antony Eden junior, bought the gang’s cockles for far cheaper than local rates. Both were found not guilty for helping the workers break immigration law.

***

2013

A 22-year-old Hungarian woman responded to an advert for a baby-sitter job in London and after a telephone interview, was offered a job.

When she arrived in Budapest to travel to Britain, she was met by three men who threatened her and removed her phone, before driving her to Slovakia, where she was brought to Manchester by coach.

The woman was then sold to a Pakistani man for £3,500, who told her they were to marry.

She was held at addresses in Gorton, Longsight and Levenshulme in Manchester, before being taken to Chorley, Lancashire, where she was able to alert police.

2015

Bartolomej Sivak, the organiser of the operation pleaded guilty to trafficking and conspiracy to facilitate a breach of immigration law and was jailed for 4 years and 2 months.

Rana Yousaf, who assisted in moving of the victim, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to facilitate a breach of immigration law and was sentenced to 20 months imprisonment.

Nasar Khan, who acted as a fixer for the sale of the victim, was found in Frankfurt and was extradited back to the UK. Khan was sentenced to 3 years in jail after pleading guilty to conspiracy to facilitate a breach of immigration law.

Waqas Younus is still wanted in relation to the investigation.

***

August 2012

A 20-year-old woman was kidnapped from her rural home in Slovakia. She was placed on a bus and told she would be going to the Czech Republic to find work. Instead, she was trafficked to an address in Bradford by Imrich Bodor, where Abdul Sabool Shinwary and Kristina Makunova sold her to Azam Khan for a sham marriage.

In October 2012, police received an anonymous phone call which led to the discovery of the 20-year-old, who had been falsely imprisoned, beaten and raped by Azam Khan at his home in Burnley. The victim spoke no English, had no money and her identity documents had been taken.

October 2013

Imrich Bodor, Abdul Sabool Shinwary, Kristina Makunova and Azam Khan were found guilty of human trafficking and false imprisonment.  Azam Khan was found guilty of 3 counts of rape and battery. Nusrat Khan, a relative of Azam who lived with him in Burnley, was found guilty of false imprisonment.

***

July 2015

A tweet on the Preston Police Twitter page raised concern about a number of young women living at an address in Longworth Street, which was suspected to be a brothel. Further enquiries led to a police raid at the address, where 2 women, both aged 18 were found.

Marius Petre, Adrian Matei and Ionut Ion were arrested at the address. They had promised the women jobs as maids at a hotel. Instead, the women were taken to Longworth Street where they were told they would be working as prostitutes. They were forced to perform sexual acts on customers and were told that both they and their families would be beaten if they refused to comply, or tried to run away. They were also subjected to rape by Petre, Matei and Ion.

February 2016

Marius Petre and Adrian Matei were found guilty of intentionally arranging or facilitating entry to the UK of a person with a view to their sexual exploitation, causing or inciting prostitution for financial gain and of 4 counts of rape. They were both sentenced to 20 years imprisonment.

Ionut Ion was found guilty of keeping or managing a brothel used for prostitution and of 2 counts of rape. He was sentenced to 13 years imprisonment.

***

July 2013

Authorities were alerted when a 20-year-old male trafficking victim contacted a charity, revealing he had been the victim of offences committed in 2011. More victims soon came forward, and others were identified.

Convictions were made against Hungarian traffickers Janos Orsos and Ferenc Illes, who had been providing workers to Kozee Sleep, a bed factory that supplied retailers including John Lewis, Dunelm and Next.

Company owner Mohammed Rafiq and two of his employees were charged with conspiracy to facilitate travel within the UK for exploitation. Rafiq was the first owner of a UK company to be charged with human trafficking offences.

Workers supplied to Kozee Sleep were forced to live with up to 42 men in a two-bedroom house on Batley Field Hill and were found to be surviving on small scraps of food. The men would work for up to 20 hours a day and were paid as little as £10 a week.

May 2014

Janos Orsos pleaded guilty to conspiracy to traffic a person into the UK for exploitation, blackmail and converting criminal property. He was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment. Ferenc Illes pleaded guilty to conspiracy to traffic a person within the UK for exploitation. He was sentenced to 3 years imprisonment.

January 2016

Mohammed Rafiq was found guilty of conspiracy to traffic and was sentenced to 2 years and 3 months imprisonment. He pleaded not guilty.

***

February 2016

A gang of three brothers, their uncle and two women were found guilty of 55 serious offences, some of which lay undetected for almost 20 years. 15 vulnerable girls, one as young as 11, were subjected to acts of sexual violence between 1987 and 2003 including rape, forced prostitution, indecent assault and false imprisonment.

Karen MacGregor was sentenced to 13 years for conspiracy to procure a child for prostitution, false imprisonment, and conspiracy to rape. MacGregor was a high-profile campaigner on behalf of abused children. In 2013, she founded KinKids, a community support group for kinship carers. MacGregor boasted that KinKids had helped families affected by the scandal. She had persuaded Rotherham council, local Labour MP John Healey and other local organisations to support KinKids in the wake of heightened investigation into cases of child abuse in Rotherham.

MacGregor had been luring vulnerable girls to her home in Walker Street, which was described by one of the victims as akin to the Hansel and Gretel fairytale. There, she would groom them before pimping them out to earn their keep.

One of her victims described how MacGregor was a motherly figure, who had taken her under her wing at a difficult time in her life and treated her like a daughter. Another victim described how within days of arriving, MacGregor had plied her with vodka to the point of unconsciousness before waking up to find herself being sexually assaulted.

Since 2016, 33 men and 1 woman have been imprisoned for rape, false imprisonment, sexual intercourse with a girl under 13, and indecent assault for a total of 445 years and 3 months. Cases are ongoing.

2017

The conduct of more than 60 officers from South Yorkshire Police who had dealt with the victims across the 20 year period is now under investigation. It is the largest Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) enquiry since the 1989 Hillsborough football disaster.

An inspection of Rotherham Council concluded it was “not fit for purpose”, following an independent enquiry into its handling of child sexual-exploitation reports since 1997. The enquiry identified a culture of “bullying, sexism ... and misplaced ‘political correctness’”, along with a history of covering up information and silencing whistleblowers. The leader of the council, Paul Lakin, resigned, and the government replaced its elected officers with a team of five commissioners, including one tasked specifically with looking at children’s services.

January 21, 2019: The Dark Figure* photobook is now available to pre-order

Published by Another Place Press, The Dark Figure* is now available to pre-order. Complete with a free A3-poster, which I encourage you to help raise awareness by sharing in your local community.

£16. Buy now!

***

October 18, 2018: Anti-Slavery Day Announcement

To mark Anti-Slavery Day 2018, I am delighted to announce that The Dark Figure* will be published as a photobook by Another Place Press in early 2019.

I’m truly excited to be working with APP, and the wonderful Iain Sarjeant to produce a beautiful, affordable photobook, and for The Dark Figure* to reach new audiences, through this new lease of life.

More coming soon.

PLUS: three new stories added to thedarkfigure.co.uk

Click on the dropdown menu and visit: London, Lincolnshire and Shirebrook for new stories.

***

February 2018: Fotofilmic18

The Dark Figure* has been shortlisted for Fotofilmic’s international juried traveling exhibition competition – the worlds only global call for contemporary analogue and film-based photography, presenting a unique and exciting picture of 21st century photographic arts, rooted in material practices.

If successful, The Dark Figure* will join the traveling exhibit, touring to Seoul, South Korea; San Francisco, US; and Vancouver, Canada. There is also the opportunity to win $5000 towards the continuation of the project.

Please show your appreciation for the work by following, sharing and writing to @amy.romer and @the_dark_figure on Twitter and Instagram.

I [Amy] would love to hear from you!

Click to learn more.

***

New Year 2018: The Dark Figure* is back on the road!

Despite living away from the U.K. during all of 2017, I [Amy] couldn’t help but use my Christmas vacation time back in England, once again on the road for The Dark Figure*.

Throughout the year I had been closely following various cases and exploring new avenues for the project, but knew I’d take the soonest opportunity to get back in my car with my Mamiya, and revive the landscape project.

That’s not to say I’m not excited about new avenues... just that old avenues are still young.

***

November 2017: Collaborating for Freedom

is honoured to have been able to collaborate with and contribute towards a new, important piece of research, led by Britain’s Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner Kevin Hyland, and the Rights Lab of the University of Nottingham, in producing the report: Collaborating for Freedom: anti-slavery partnerships in the U.K., published in November, 2017.

The Dark Figure*

Click here to read the report.

The Dark Figure* photobook is now available to pre-order from Another Place Press.

Get a copy here.

—Pete Brook, writer and curator of Prison Photography

Follow @amyromer on Twitter, and @amy.romer on Instagram.

1 604-753-7739

info[at]amyromer.com

For more of Amy, visit: amyromer.com

Below is a recommended list of government and non-government resources, offering information, and the opportunity to donate.

Unseen UK: Unseen are a Bristol based charity whose efforts are focused in three main areas - supporting survivors, providing targeted solutions through thorough research, and influencing systems that keep slavery hidden.

ECPAT UK: ECPAT produce research on the trafficking of children into the UK and are instrumental in raising awareness in government of the plight of trafficked children for both sexual exploitation and  exploitative labour. UK trafficked children factsheet.

Filipino Domestic Workers Association (FDWA): The hidden nature of domestic work means that migrants are particularly vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. The FDWA’s primary aim is to provide support and advice to migrant domestic workers in the UK and to raise awareness about the abuse and exploitation of domestic workers in the UK.

Migrant Help UK: Migrant Help work with adult male and female survivors (and their dependents) of all forms of modern day slavery; labour exploitation, sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, forced criminality and other forms of human trafficking by providing support such as accommodation and material assistance, emergency medical treatment and access to other healthcare, access to substance misuse support, psychological support and mental health services, legal aid, advice, asylum help, English lessons, art therapy, sports initiatives and assistance services.

Anti-Slavery: Anti-Slavery work closely with partner organisations from around the world to help influence decision-makers and inspire change on a global level, particularly on bonded labour (also known as debt bondage), descent based slavery, forced labour, forced marriage, child labour, the exploitation of migrant workers in conditions amounting to slavery (particularly migrant domestic workers), and human trafficking.

Stop The Traffik: Stop The Traffik are a global charity that look to disrupt and prevent human trafficking through community teaching and by informing consumers about how trafficking impacts the supply chains of businesses world-wide. Stop The Traffik also gather, analyse and share information from individuals and stakeholders around the world on how and where trafficking is taking place.

Human Trafficking Foundation: The Human Trafficking Foundation (HTF) is a UK-based charity which grew out of the work of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Human Trafficking. HTF was created in order to support and add value to the work of the many charities and agencies operating to combat human trafficking in the UK.

UK Human Trafficking Centre (UKHTC): The UKHTC is part of the Organised Crime Command in the National Crime Agency. They work with a wide range of partners and stakeholders with a primary goal that aims to protect the public, target traffickers and reduce the harm caused by human trafficking.

The UKHTC’s partners include police forces, the Home Office and other government departments, the UK Border Force, the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA), international agencies, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and other charitable and voluntary expert groups.

Their site gives useful information about the National Referral Mechanism, including statistics, and lists relevant legislation.

Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA): The GLA are a Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB). Their licensing scheme regulates businesses who provide workers to the fresh produce supply chain and horticulture industry, to make sure they meet the employment standards required by law. Their aim is it prevent worker exploitation, protect vulnerable people and tackle unlicensed/criminal activity by ensuring those licensed, operate within the law.

Bawso: Bawso is a Welsh government accredited support provider, delivering specialist services to people from black and ethnic minority backgrounds who are affected by domestic abuse and other forms of abuse, including female genital mutilation, forced marriage, human trafficking and prostitution. Bawso acts as a first responder, which means they can make referrals into the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), on behalf of an individual, or make the referral if another frontline agency isn’t a first responder. They can also offer support to those that have already been referred by another agency and have several dedicated safe houses across Wales.

Distraction Pieces Podcast with Scroobius Pip #86: Housing for Women special - Mira’s story.

“ Pip breaks down the full process of what it took to get to the interview/chat stage with guest Mira in the intro (including the discussions with Comic Relief/Sport Relief and Housing For Women), which will prime you perfectly for what follows. And indeed, what follows from guest Mira is awfully hard to take in but a truly valuable, and an ultimately inspiring tale of what can happen after being swept up in a wave of unfairness, abuse, incredible mistreatment and a web of terrible people. Heavy, unflinchingly honest and very upfront, but a story that might have otherwise gone unheard - and Mira is a wonderful, positive person to share a Distraction Pieces Podcast with. A truly encouraging story which shows how much projects like Housing For Women’s ‘Re-Place’ initiative can help lives be rebuilt and restructured.”

All images © Amy Romer, 2018, All rights reserved