Five Quizzed over Greenacre Travellers Site ‘Slavery’

Five people are still being questioned by police over the discovery of 24 men suspected of being held against their will at a Bedfordshire traveller site.

Four men and a woman were arrested on Sunday on suspicion of committing slavery offences at Greenacre caravan site in Leighton Buzzard.

The men, some English and some from eastern Europe, were found in “filthy and cramped” conditions, police said.

Detectives believe some may have been there for up to 15 years.

Those arrested, all residents of the caravan park, are being held on suspicion of committing offences under section 71 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009.

They are being held at police stations across Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire.

Horse boxes

Weapons, drugs and money were also found at the site, police said.

Detectives said they had become aware of 28 people previously making “similar accusations” after investigating the site since 2008.

The raid was launched as part of a long-running investigation by Bedfordshire Police after intelligence a number of men were being held against their will in poor conditions and forced to work for no pay.

The raid on the site, which involved more than 200 police officers and representatives of various agencies including welfare charities, began at 05:30 BST on Sunday.

The 24 men believed to be victims of slavery, were found in sheds and horse boxes, and were taken from the site to a medical centre.

Dozens of police vans remained at the site, which consists of a series of gated properties set off a winding road, until late Sunday afternoon.

Det Ch Insp Sean O’Neil said: “The men we found at the site were in a poor state of physical health and the conditions they were living in were shockingly filthy and cramped.

“We believe that some of them had been living and working there in a state of virtual slavery, some for just a few weeks and others for up to 15 years.

“Because of the number of victims and suspects and the size of the site, we needed the assistance of many officers from specialist units.”

‘Hair cut off’

The major crime unit was assisted by dog sections, helicopter and firearms support, and officers from the UK Human Trafficking Centre.

Mr O’Neil said the men appeared to have been “recruited” from soup kitchens and benefits offices and included people with problems such as alcoholism.

He said: “They’re recruited and told if you come here we’ll pay you £80 a day, we’ll look after you give you board and lodgings.

“But when they get here, their hair is cut off them, they’re kept in in some cases [in] horseboxes, dog kennels and old caravans, made to work for no money, given very, very small amounts of food.

“That’s the worse case. Some are treated a little bit better but they were told they could not leave and if they did they would be beaten up and attacked.

“But in fact some people did leave and told us what was going on and when we looked back since 2008 we were aware of 28 people who had made similar accusations.”

Police have appealed for help and asked anyone with any information to contact them in confidence.

Alexandra Topping, Guardian (London), September 12, 2011

The police investigation into a suspected slave camp at a Travellers’ site in Bedfordshire has been challenged after nine of the 24 alleged slaves refused to help police with their inquiries.

One of the nine accused the police of heavy-handed tactics and described the five arrests as “complete rubbish”.

Police insist that the four-month undercover operation has broken up an “organised crime group”, and were questioning 15 alleged victims, who were being treated for malnutrition and other medical problems.

Police continue to question four men and are looking for two further suspects. One heavily pregnant woman, who is expected to give birth imminently, has been released on bail. No charges have yet been brought.

DCI Sean O’Neil, from the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire major crimes unit, said: “Those people who we continue to help are appreciative of the support that is on offer, but it will take some time to work through with them what has happened.”

He said he was confident the operation, called Operation Netwing, had broken up a criminal network.

Police have arrested suspects on slavery and servitude offences under section 71 of the Coroners and Justice Act.

“The new legislation has allowed the investigation more scope and takes into account emotional rather than physical harm,” O’Neil 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.”

At the well-established Greenacre caravan park in Leighton Buzzard, which has 16 mobile homes, one of the men taken by police, who did not want to be named, said he had been living in a caravan on a Traveller plot for several years, working as a paver and was being paid £50 a day.

“I think it’s all a load of rubbish and they just hate Travellers,” said the man, who is in his 50s. “Plenty of men who were here wanted to be here and they were getting paid. The police coming in heavy-handed like this is just wrong.”

More than 200 police officers raided the site in the early hours of Sunday, aided by a helicopter and dog patrols. Armed officers were also present.

Four men and a woman were arrested on suspicion of slavery offences, while 24 men were taken to a medical centre.

Police said the men had been kept as virtual slaves in appalling conditions, forced to work long hours doing physically demanding jobs without pay.

However, the man told the Guardian he had worked for 15 years with one Traveller family who had provided him with work and accommodation when he had nowhere else to go. After refusing to answer police questions he made his way back to the site.

He said: “The police told me I couldn’t come back but I told them it was my home and if I wanted to go back I would go back.”

Speaking at the door of her mobile home, one woman–who said she was the wife of one of the arrested men but did not want to be named–said the police claims were “ridiculous”.

She added: “The men who were taken were getting paid £30 a day, they had somewhere to live, this is all a load of nonsense.”

Police claimed the suspects lured vulnerable men from dole queues and homeless shelters to work at the site. But the woman said they came voluntarily because they knew Travellers would give work to men down on their luck.

“Isn’t it better that they have a roof over their head?” she said. “What are they going to do now–when the police have finished with them they will be homeless. It’s up to them how they kept their homes, but they could come and go whenever they pleased.”

She accused the police of harbouring prejudices against Travellers. “It’s complete lies and they are trying to make Travellers look bad. There are two sides to this story,” she said.

A police spokeswoman said the 24 men taken from the site were being offered help: “We are giving help to all of the men, but if they do not want it then obviously we are not forcing them to take it.”

Paul Donohoe, spokesman for Anti-Slavery International said that, although he could not comment on the details of this particular case, it was not unusual for victims of slavery to resist help from the authorities.

“We do often see the Stockholm syndrome coming into effect–it is not unusual for people who have been ‘rescued’ to psychologically identify with their enslavers.”

Police said on Monday that of the 24 men taken from the site, nine had left the medical reception centre and had chosen not to support the police investigation.

The remaining 15 continue to be assessed for welfare and health needs, and would be interviewed by detectives. Police said it would take a number of days to establish exactly what had happened to them on the site.

Of the men helping police, eight are British, three Polish, one Latvian and one Lithuanian, with two men of unconfirmed nationality.

The youngest person to be found on site was 17. Police said he has rejoined his family.