0:00:07 > 0:00:12Tonight, a journey through the ruthless world of human trafficking.
0:00:13 > 0:00:15You think your daughter may have been trafficked back to Glasgow
0:00:16 > 0:00:16Green smack if I ask the question directly want to ask, the men will
0:00:17 > 0:00:30get angry. I filmed those at the heart of the
0:00:31 > 0:00:37supply chain. I am not a trafficker. Who is the trafficker, then?
0:00:38 > 0:00:45I discover a multi-million pound criminal network.
0:00:46 > 0:00:52I'm shocked by that, to hear it. I have no words for it.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56And investigate the trade right on our doorstep.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00You don't know any of the names of the people?
0:01:01 > 0:01:31Tonight, Humans for Sale. It's early morning, I've just
0:01:32 > 0:01:35arrived at a service station on the outskirts of London. I've been told
0:01:36 > 0:01:41that three times a week a bus from Romania pulls into this car park.
0:01:42 > 0:01:46It's just before 2am in the morning. The information I have is, the bus
0:01:47 > 0:01:50set off from Romania two days ago, it has been travelling nonstop for
0:01:51 > 0:01:54two days. When it comes here, the people get off and are separated
0:01:55 > 0:02:01into minibuses. I am waiting on these minibuses to arrive.
0:02:02 > 0:02:05Minutes later and four empty minibuses with Romanian numberplates
0:02:06 > 0:02:12turn up. All I need now is for the
0:02:13 > 0:02:14long-distance coach to arrive. 2:50 and no sign of the bus, but the
0:02:15 > 0:02:31minibuses are still there, so... There is a bus.
0:02:32 > 0:02:37The bus is filled with Romanian 's, they've just travel nonstop for more
0:02:38 > 0:02:43than 60 hours, crossing seven countries to get here, their final
0:02:44 > 0:02:45destination, the UK. They will all have come willingly, it's just some
0:02:46 > 0:02:59may have been trafficked. I guess if I want to find out more,
0:03:00 > 0:03:06about where these people have come from, and what their stories are, or
0:03:07 > 0:03:16stories of people like them, then I'm going to have to get that bus.
0:03:17 > 0:03:25Human trafficking is big business. People are now the second most
0:03:26 > 0:03:29lucrative criminal commodity next to drugs, with lives being traded and
0:03:30 > 0:03:34sold on a scale never seen before. I have spent the past six months
0:03:35 > 0:03:39investigating this trade, and have witnessed some of the shocking and
0:03:40 > 0:03:49ruthless ways in which humans are now being exploited.
0:03:50 > 0:04:11My investigation begins here in the highlands of Scotland.
0:04:12 > 0:04:18This man was working in his family's restaurant when he saw a job for a
0:04:19 > 0:04:25tan dory chef in the UK. It was advertised by this man, who, after
0:04:26 > 0:04:30giving him a job, was ordered to pay ?20,000, a Visa and paperwork.
0:04:31 > 0:04:47He ran this hotel in a remote village near Fort William. As seen
0:04:48 > 0:04:53in this online advert, the Hotel and grounds were catering. The job as a
0:04:54 > 0:05:18tandoori chef was a lie. This was now his life, 22 hours a
0:05:19 > 0:05:23day, seven days a week. A fellow Bangladeshi also became a slave,
0:05:24 > 0:05:28both men realised they were trapped, victims of Labour trafficking, and
0:05:29 > 0:05:30they had to stay under control if they had any hope of recovering
0:05:31 > 0:05:47their money. During the time that you worked for
0:05:48 > 0:06:06him, how much did you get paid? One of the Hotel's regular customers
0:06:07 > 0:06:09was Alison Smith. After several months of befriending the men, they
0:06:10 > 0:06:13opened up to what was being done to them. A friend had been beaten, a
0:06:14 > 0:06:19opened up to what was being done to friend had been hurt by him. They
0:06:20 > 0:06:27were frightened for their lives. The only thing dissing was the whip on
0:06:28 > 0:06:31their back. -- missing. It was trafficking, and I couldn't believe
0:06:32 > 0:06:35it. This had been going on under my nose and I didn't know anything
0:06:36 > 0:06:43about it, and the community didn't know anything about it.
0:06:44 > 0:06:53They were promised a wonderful life, and they got the exact opposite.
0:06:54 > 0:06:59He was prosecuted for Labour trafficking, he was jailed for just
0:07:00 > 0:07:05three years. With the legal case closed, both men
0:07:06 > 0:07:10were ordered to leave the country by the Home Office, their Visa
0:07:11 > 0:07:14applications reviews. A move, they said, has put their lives in danger,
0:07:15 > 0:07:18still owing thousands to money lenders in Bangladesh.
0:07:19 > 0:07:34If you don't pay them, what is the threat?
0:07:35 > 0:07:52More than a third of all human traffickers victims are exploited
0:07:53 > 0:07:56for Labour. I'm on my way to meet a man who spent years helping rescue
0:07:57 > 0:08:03and support victims of the trafficking trade in Scotland.
0:08:04 > 0:08:06People have got historic views of what human trafficking is. It is not
0:08:07 > 0:08:12people snatched off the street and forced abroad. It is people being
0:08:13 > 0:08:15sold an idea, a better life still, better housing and better income, an
0:08:16 > 0:08:22opportunity to better their lives when they arrive here. Their travel
0:08:23 > 0:08:25documents are taken from them and they put in atrocious accommodation,
0:08:26 > 0:08:30usually overcrowded. They are not given the kind of job they expected
0:08:31 > 0:08:36to get, if they get any job at all. How big is the problem here? The
0:08:37 > 0:08:38victims run into millions. In Scotland alone, you are talking
0:08:39 > 0:08:44thousands rather than hundreds or more than that.
0:08:45 > 0:08:47Jim says he has watched entire communities become affected by human
0:08:48 > 0:08:57traffickers, like Glasgow's Govanhill. There were a high number
0:08:58 > 0:09:02of victims because there is a clear link between Eastern European crime
0:09:03 > 0:09:13gangs. Human trafficking is one of the things they do. Butlins with
0:09:14 > 0:09:17organised Asian gangs and Glasgow, the Asian gangs provide the
0:09:18 > 0:09:22accommodation and there are a lot in Govanhill.
0:09:23 > 0:09:27Roma communities from sabbatical, Czech Republic and Romania make up
0:09:28 > 0:09:34more than a fifth of the local population. Those countries are the
0:09:35 > 0:09:41most popular sources for trafficking. Most of the victims and
0:09:42 > 0:09:45traffickers are Roma. It is little wonder, then, that areas like this
0:09:46 > 0:09:50but repeatedly come to the attention of enforcement agencies
0:09:51 > 0:09:53investigating human traffickers. Raids on properties here are a
0:09:54 > 0:09:56familiar sight. This mother and daughter from a back year were
0:09:57 > 0:09:59jailed after trafficking a young goal from eastern Europe to
0:10:00 > 0:10:02Govanhill. As recently as February, goal from eastern Europe to
0:10:03 > 0:10:05police arrested suspects in a sex goal from eastern Europe to
0:10:06 > 0:10:07trafficking case. It is believed girls were being brought to
0:10:08 > 0:10:13trafficking case. It is believed Govanhill from Slovakia and forced
0:10:14 > 0:10:15into prostitution. Roma are one of the most vulnerable ethnic minority
0:10:16 > 0:10:19into prostitution. Roma are one of groups in the world, and have been
0:10:20 > 0:10:24marginalised and excluded for centuries. Trying to get any
0:10:25 > 0:10:28information here is hard. The problem is that the Roma people
0:10:29 > 0:10:32have faced years facing the worst kinds of discrimination, so they are
0:10:33 > 0:10:35very private people. Trying to engage them in conversation is
0:10:36 > 0:10:43difficult, let alone bringing up the subject of human traffickers.
0:10:44 > 0:10:46If I want to try and investigate the supply chain, meet those at the
0:10:47 > 0:10:49heart of the trade, then I need to go to where both the victims and the
0:10:50 > 0:11:12traffickers are coming from. Slovakia, it only became independent
0:11:13 > 0:11:19from Czechoslovakia in 1993. Since then, it has struggled to break the
0:11:20 > 0:11:23cycle of poverty. Here, Romas are marginalised from the rest of the
0:11:24 > 0:11:27population, living in squalid, shanty settlement is with little or
0:11:28 > 0:11:33no money. Slovakia is one of the most popular sourced countries in
0:11:34 > 0:11:38Europe for traffickers. The destination foremost of their
0:11:39 > 0:11:43victims, the UK. I'm on my way to meet a man who
0:11:44 > 0:11:47describes himself as a social worker. He works closely with
0:11:48 > 0:11:52authorities in trafficking cases between Slovakia and Scotland.
0:11:53 > 0:11:57He is one of the few people in this area prepared to work with the Roma
0:11:58 > 0:12:02community, and here he is now. I am told that what he doesn't know about
0:12:03 > 0:12:07trafficking in the area isn't worth knowing. People
0:12:08 > 0:12:15nice to meet you, how are you? I am looking forward to today. Do you
0:12:16 > 0:12:23have a plan for me? Yes, I have a plan for you. Shall we go and we
0:12:24 > 0:12:26will talk and drive. Yeah. Let's just go.
0:12:27 > 0:12:28He starts by taking me to a nearby house owned by a man who he says is
0:12:29 > 0:12:32a trafficker. house owned by a man who he says is
0:12:33 > 0:12:41Look at this place. This comfortable house. It's a nice house compared to
0:12:42 > 0:12:48the rest of the houses. The guy is in Glasgow doing his business. He
0:12:49 > 0:12:52says the man buys local Roma girls and sells them to men in Scotland.
0:12:53 > 0:13:02One in six females trafficked to the UK today is sexually exploited.
0:13:03 > 0:13:08Girls used to be one or two days. Trafficked from here to Glasgow by
0:13:09 > 0:13:13car. Why are they kept there? To which the transport? Passports,
0:13:14 > 0:13:21identity cards, passports, identity cards and then go.
0:13:22 > 0:13:31Padlocked. He tells me the girls trafficked to Glasgow are sold to
0:13:32 > 0:13:38Asian men, predominantly Pakistani or Indian, to take part in what is
0:13:39 > 0:13:41referred to as a sham marriage. The men can then apply the UK
0:13:42 > 0:13:47citizenship as they are now married to an EU citizen.
0:13:48 > 0:13:59How many girls will have come here? Five? Ten? 100? More than a hundred.
0:14:00 > 0:14:05Really? Really. Really. He has arranged for me to meet a
0:14:06 > 0:14:11Roma girls sold to a Pakistani man in Glasgow two years ago for a sham
0:14:12 > 0:14:16marriage. By the time she was rescued, she had already given birth
0:14:17 > 0:14:28to a daughter. But when we get to the house, we are in for a surprise.
0:14:29 > 0:14:33Maybe she is back to Glasgow. think your daughter may have been
0:14:34 > 0:14:39trafficked back to Glasgow? OK. The parents don't seem concerned at all.
0:14:40 > 0:14:46This is the third time your daughter has been trafficked? Yes.
0:14:47 > 0:14:52The girl may have gone but she has left her young daughter behind.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56This is her baby? She must miss her baby.
0:14:57 > 0:15:01He says the girl was sold by a family friend. Most trafficking
0:15:02 > 0:15:11victims are sold or bought by someone they know.
0:15:12 > 0:15:27This is typical ghetto. Most of the people living here, that ideal life
0:15:28 > 0:15:31is to get to Great Britain. He takes me round the area to meet people he
0:15:32 > 0:15:35is to get to Great Britain. He takes says are either traffickers or
0:15:36 > 0:15:41victims of the trade. We go from house to house, village to village.
0:15:42 > 0:15:44I'm told I can't film those I meet because it's too dangerous. I'm
0:15:45 > 0:15:50trying to investigate the trafficking of young people from
0:15:51 > 0:15:57Slovakia to the UK. Do you believe your sister was trafficked? You have
0:15:58 > 0:16:01never heard of trafficking before? Some people are saying that these
0:16:02 > 0:16:05girls have been trafficked. It seems more girls have been sold to gangs
0:16:06 > 0:16:14in Scotland. We know there are three girls currently missing who are back
0:16:15 > 0:16:23in the UK in Glasgow. Yes. Fear of speaking out against the trafficker
0:16:24 > 0:16:33is clear. TRANSLATION: I am a little bit afraid. I am afraid because I
0:16:34 > 0:16:37don't want to have problems. It is estimated the money made by
0:16:38 > 0:16:42traffickers runs into billions. It is little wonder they don't tolerate
0:16:43 > 0:16:48people speaking out. What kind of repercussions has there been when
0:16:49 > 0:16:55people have spoken out? When they have spoken out, the trafficker can
0:16:56 > 0:17:03come directly or indirectly and will beat them. The threats of violence
0:17:04 > 0:17:06are real? Yes. He tells me the Roma traffickers cannot operate without
0:17:07 > 0:17:14the permission of the leaders each settlement. He takes me to meet one
0:17:15 > 0:17:19such leader. Known locally as a man handy with his fists. Much of his
0:17:20 > 0:17:24life has been spent behind bars for violence. He is reluctant to be
0:17:25 > 0:17:31filmed but eventually allows my camera in. I am from the UK and in
0:17:32 > 0:17:47the UK there are many Roma people there.
0:17:48 > 0:17:56What is this? He shows me the conditions he and his family live
0:17:57 > 0:17:58in. This is the only bathroom? I ask him whether he knows anything about
0:17:59 > 0:18:16the trafficking of goals to the UK for marriage. -- girls.
0:18:17 > 0:18:31His evasiveness makes me suspicious. He is lying. Yes. His own daughter,
0:18:32 > 0:18:40his son. He sold his own daughter? Yes. The daughter is married to a
0:18:41 > 0:18:49Pakistani guy. He stood there and said nothing. He is a prize fighter
0:18:50 > 0:19:02and he spent his life in prison. I think we have to let this one go.
0:19:03 > 0:19:11Maybe he's not the man to... Yes, shall we go? I wonder how he can be
0:19:12 > 0:19:16so sure of Victor's involvement in the trafficking trade. He then tells
0:19:17 > 0:19:21me payments are being made between Victor and the man Victor sold his
0:19:22 > 0:19:32daughter to in Glasgow. And you know this, how? Because you are the one
0:19:33 > 0:19:39that passes the money across? Yes. You didn't tell me that before. What
0:19:40 > 0:19:44happened? Tell me about the money. The Pakistani guy used to send money
0:19:45 > 0:19:55to the family through my own address. I go to them every week. I
0:19:56 > 0:20:01hadn't expected human trafficking to be embedded so much in communities
0:20:02 > 0:20:06here. I wasn't prepared for quite how organised and lucrative a
0:20:07 > 0:20:19criminal enterprise, the selling of humans had become. How old is this
0:20:20 > 0:20:23one that we are going to see? 22. The woman was sold into waste Sham
0:20:24 > 0:20:30marriage with a Pakistani man in the UK. He tells me to pay attention to
0:20:31 > 0:20:38the birth certificate of the woman's young son. This birth certificate,
0:20:39 > 0:20:45there is no farther's name. She is not obliged to say the father's
0:20:46 > 0:20:58name. My questions about the father change the atmosphere. I am not
0:20:59 > 0:21:02allowed to ask questions? If I start to ask the questions I really want
0:21:03 > 0:21:11to ask, the men are going to get very angry? OK. The mother-in-law
0:21:12 > 0:21:20makes a phone call. He tells me it is to the trafficker who demands to
0:21:21 > 0:21:31speak to the young woman. I think we can't wait ask her much more. I
0:21:32 > 0:21:37think we should go. The camera is turned off and I leave can sue --
0:21:38 > 0:21:42confused actors -- as to the relevance of the blank birth
0:21:43 > 0:21:51certificate. No name. That is the normal thing. The Pakistani guy can
0:21:52 > 0:21:56claim at any time he is the father. I can understand... Right, sorry, I
0:21:57 > 0:22:00just understand. It is a good thing there is no father's name because
0:22:01 > 0:22:01just understand. It is a good thing anyone can buy that woman and the
0:22:02 > 0:22:07Child and claim that child as theirs anyone can buy that woman and the
0:22:08 > 0:22:11because they have deliberately left that blank. Even though she has been
0:22:12 > 0:22:17trafficked once, she can be trafficked again and again. She will
0:22:18 > 0:22:19be worth a lot of money. The man pretending to the father can explore
0:22:20 > 0:22:22be worth a lot of money. The man human rights laws claiming he can be
0:22:23 > 0:22:34deported from his country of choice and he's the baby's parent. My time
0:22:35 > 0:22:40was a lesson for me in how the people at the heart of the
0:22:41 > 0:22:45trafficking trade on nothing more than a lucrative commodity. When you
0:22:46 > 0:22:58see the little they come from, it is clear the profit margins are huge.
0:22:59 > 0:23:07Just a short drive away on the outskirts of the city of Kosice is
0:23:08 > 0:23:19this place, Lunik IX. It houses the largest Roma community in Slovakia.
0:23:20 > 0:23:32It is estimated around 7500 people live here. Few have electricity.
0:23:33 > 0:23:37There's no heating, no running water. Hepatitis, scabies and
0:23:38 > 0:23:44meningitis are common. Unemployment is almost 100%. Bus drivers who stop
0:23:45 > 0:23:51here receive a special hazard pay. Its communities like these which the
0:23:52 > 0:23:56traffickers deliberately target. As I look around, I'm approached by a
0:23:57 > 0:24:09young girl in the gathering crowd. How tough is life here? Very hard.
0:24:10 > 0:24:17You see. It shocks me. So many people don't understand. They don't
0:24:18 > 0:24:22want to give me a job because I am a gypsy. She says she is here visiting
0:24:23 > 0:24:28family and she understands why people are desperate to escape the
0:24:29 > 0:24:33grinding poverty as she did. If people say they have a dream and the
0:24:34 > 0:24:41dream is to go to the UK... Yes, that is the dream, definitely. You
0:24:42 > 0:24:46see, come with me to the car, don't take anything, they will run. If
0:24:47 > 0:24:54someone said they will give me a job, take to the UK, you would go?
0:24:55 > 0:25:02Definitely. I don't think about this. What at the -- what if at the
0:25:03 > 0:25:06other end it was all lies, that is not true? That is the problem. Some
0:25:07 > 0:25:10people are lying. When you look not true? That is the problem. Some
0:25:11 > 0:25:15the poverty, she is talking sense. How tempting Obika somebody to come
0:25:16 > 0:25:20along and say, I'll give you a job, I'll give you money, I'll give you
0:25:21 > 0:25:29accommodation. Just the basics. I can understand the temptation when
0:25:30 > 0:25:32the traffickers come to town. Such vulnerability, such desperation
0:25:33 > 0:25:36makes communities like this one rich pickings for the trafficker. Their
0:25:37 > 0:25:58profits are an easy get. But some Roma communities in this
0:25:59 > 0:26:05region do have money. Towns like this one where the houses are known
0:26:06 > 0:26:09as smarty houses because of their bright colours. This resident says
0:26:10 > 0:26:14he has watched the wealth of his bright colours. This resident says
0:26:15 > 0:26:18town grow in recent years. Historically and a great number of
0:26:19 > 0:26:21people from here would traffickers. They were responsible for the
0:26:22 > 0:26:29movement of people trafficking to the UK. How did the people feel
0:26:30 > 0:26:31about the fact that this is known everywhere else as the trafficking
0:26:32 > 0:27:02town? There is something else at work
0:27:03 > 0:27:06here. Many of these houses lie empty. The residents don't seem to
0:27:07 > 0:27:19be at home. What's it is to the people living who own these houses?
0:27:20 > 0:27:29Anglo Slovak links become apparent. This is a British registration
0:27:30 > 0:27:40plate. Do you get many British registration plates here? Right now,
0:27:41 > 0:27:50there is not too many. The ironic thing is these houses are the
0:27:51 > 0:27:55holiday homes. They commute to the UK? A car breaks down beside me. The
0:27:56 > 0:28:11driver, a resident of Govanhill. You can travel to deepest, darkest
0:28:12 > 0:28:20Slovakia and meet someone who used to working Govanhill. Nice to meet
0:28:21 > 0:28:23you. It is clear strong economic links have developed between
0:28:24 > 0:28:27Scotland and Slovakia but how much of it is built on the success of the
0:28:28 > 0:28:37trafficking trade between the two countries? Slovakian police have
0:28:38 > 0:28:40unit dedicated to tackling the trafficking trade and its efforts
0:28:41 > 0:28:44have been recognised worldwide as having had some considerable
0:28:45 > 0:28:56success. They show me some recent cases. That is where they live?
0:28:57 > 0:28:59They'll traffickers? -- they are traffickers?
0:29:00 > 0:29:15Here they are on a night rate apprehend the traffickers behind a
0:29:16 > 0:29:25forced begging gang. Here, rescuing some of the victims. And another
0:29:26 > 0:29:42arrest. A man believed to be part of an organised crime gang.
0:29:43 > 0:30:31Adrian leads the unit responsible for the trafficking across Slovakia.
0:30:32 > 0:30:42They want to get their investment back, so it's a win, win?
0:30:43 > 0:30:49During my time into a back year, I've seen the kind of poverty I
0:30:50 > 0:30:53never expected to see within Europe. And how desperation to escape is
0:30:54 > 0:30:56leading so many young women into the arms of traffickers. I'm beginning
0:30:57 > 0:31:01to understand how deeply complex it arms of traffickers. I'm beginning
0:31:02 > 0:31:11is, and why this exploitation is so difficult to fight.
0:31:12 > 0:31:18Back in Scotland, and I wonder how I can see if sham marriages of
0:31:19 > 0:31:20trafficked girls really are a part of life in Glasgow as I have been
0:31:21 > 0:31:28told in Slovakia. I decide to check of life in Glasgow as I have been
0:31:29 > 0:31:34Scotland's marriage records for some of the most common is a and Roma
0:31:35 > 0:31:38maiden names. I then look for suspicious markers. An Asian married
0:31:39 > 0:31:44name, a young bride, the same address registered repeatedly, and
0:31:45 > 0:31:50tellingly, how many got divorced after the five-year Mark, the length
0:31:51 > 0:31:56of time you have to have residency before being granted a UK passport.
0:31:57 > 0:32:02I find dozens of marriages between young, Eastern European girls and
0:32:03 > 0:32:05older Asian men. I find 70 marriages between the two community is
0:32:06 > 0:32:10registered in Glasgow, a third in Govanhill. And 40% of those who
0:32:11 > 0:32:17married there just over five years ago, the cut off for the passport,
0:32:18 > 0:32:21are now divorced. And there is one more tell-tale sign, it will trace
0:32:22 > 0:32:28of the couples living at their registered addresses. This cropped
0:32:29 > 0:32:33up many times. This street has got more than a dozen links to marriages
0:32:34 > 0:32:38between Pakistani men and Eastern European brides in recent years. In
0:32:39 > 0:32:45a second-floor flat, it is linked to three marriages. Two brides were
0:32:46 > 0:32:49teenagers, one was a 17-year-old Romanian marrying a Pakistani man a
0:32:50 > 0:32:57decade older than her. I am going to try and see if I can speak to them.
0:32:58 > 0:33:07It is that number... I will see if they are there.
0:33:08 > 0:33:13Hello, I am looking for Mr... He was registered as being married and
0:33:14 > 0:33:21living here, but he is not here? No? Right, so none of them are living
0:33:22 > 0:33:26there. 17-year-old bride from Romania, and a groom from Pakistan
0:33:27 > 0:33:32gave this as their address. The man that was registered as living here,
0:33:33 > 0:33:36he's gone and his wife, she's gone. Believe it or not, a flat on the
0:33:37 > 0:33:42other side, there is another groom and his bride. Right, so... Mr...
0:33:43 > 0:33:49Isn't there. The next one, the bride and groom
0:33:50 > 0:33:55gave this as their address. You don't know any of the names of
0:33:56 > 0:34:00the people? Right, no luck getting anyone. More
0:34:01 > 0:34:10than a dozen marriages linked to this street, brides, grooms,
0:34:11 > 0:34:16witnesses to the weddings. And all of the doors that knocked, not one
0:34:17 > 0:34:24couple lives there. Not one witness. Nobody.
0:34:25 > 0:34:25It's not definitive proof of sham marriages, but all the signs appear
0:34:26 > 0:34:36to be there. Where women are usually trafficked
0:34:37 > 0:34:44for a sham marriage or sexual exploitation, for men it is Labour
0:34:45 > 0:34:49the traffickers exploit them for. An EU citizen currently has the right
0:34:50 > 0:34:52to work in the UK. Brexit may stop this free movement, but it's not
0:34:53 > 0:34:54to work in the UK. Brexit may stop expected to prevent the vulnerable
0:34:55 > 0:35:01from being trafficked when they apply to come, such is the lure of
0:35:02 > 0:35:06the UK. We had a phone call into the BBC
0:35:07 > 0:35:09Newsroom Live from a group of construction workers from Romania
0:35:10 > 0:35:15who said they had been trafficked here, that they hadn't been paid,
0:35:16 > 0:35:19the conditions were really bad, they weren't able to eat, and they gave
0:35:20 > 0:35:26me the name and telephone number of the man they say trafficked them.
0:35:27 > 0:35:29Now, I phoned this man, this alleged trafficker, and strangely enough, he
0:35:30 > 0:35:34Now, I phoned this man, this alleged has agreed to meet me. So I'm going
0:35:35 > 0:35:44to go and see him now, and see what he says.
0:35:45 > 0:35:58Hi, Sam. Hi. Can I come in? Please. This is your new place? Yes. It is
0:35:59 > 0:36:05quite empty. It is only you here? Yeah. Where are the other men? They
0:36:06 > 0:36:12have gone back to Romania. They have gone? Yes. He tells me he has not
0:36:13 > 0:36:14been paid for a large contract which brought over a large number of men
0:36:15 > 0:36:19from Remainiac. How many? 30. You brought 30
0:36:20 > 0:36:23from Remainiac. here? -- Romania.
0:36:24 > 0:36:29You promised them the work that was promised to you? Yes. He denies
0:36:30 > 0:36:33mistreating the men and says he is out of pocket.
0:36:34 > 0:36:40Do you feel exploited? Of course I do. I spend my money, my profit, I
0:36:41 > 0:36:44work, and they promised me one thing, and it happens something
0:36:45 > 0:36:48else. I feel like a slave. Have you been trafficked? Yes. If you were
0:36:49 > 0:36:52else. I feel like a slave. Have you traffic, then the menu brought
0:36:53 > 0:36:57across were trafficked? Of course. Does that make you the trafficker? I
0:36:58 > 0:37:06am not a trafficker. Who is the trafficker, then? The man 's work
0:37:07 > 0:37:08for us. There is no money how he promised.
0:37:09 > 0:37:17I don't know what to think about promised.
0:37:18 > 0:37:22him. He is either someone who is doing this alt of the goodness of
0:37:23 > 0:37:25his heart, and bringing these men across to provide them job
0:37:26 > 0:37:31opportunities in a country they want to create a future in, or he's a
0:37:32 > 0:37:37trafficker. The problem is trying to prove the
0:37:38 > 0:37:42difference. When there's complicity by the victim, no matter how small,
0:37:43 > 0:37:48how do you prove force? Especially when those doing the trafficking are
0:37:49 > 0:37:49amongst some of the world's most organised and ruthless criminal
0:37:50 > 0:38:06gangs, as I'm about to discover. The former Communist country of
0:38:07 > 0:38:12Romania is still trying to shake off its reputation for corruption. Steep
0:38:13 > 0:38:18and complex organised criminal networks spread their tentacles
0:38:19 > 0:38:22across Europe. I'm travelling west to one of the worst problems of
0:38:23 > 0:38:31child exploitation in the whole country.
0:38:32 > 0:38:40This is one of our safe homes. We cannot give you the address, you
0:38:41 > 0:38:45know? It looks from the outside like one of any houses in the village.
0:38:46 > 0:38:49This woman runs a charity that rescues and houses girls that have
0:38:50 > 0:38:54been trafficked. There are cameras, safety bars,
0:38:55 > 0:38:57doors are locked, this is necessary to protect the girls.
0:38:58 > 0:39:01Human traffickers is the second most to protect the girls.
0:39:02 > 0:39:09profitable criminal industry in the world. To these criminals, they are
0:39:10 > 0:39:14an investment. They want them back. Has anybody ever tried to snatch
0:39:15 > 0:39:20their investment back? Yes, we had situations when people found where
0:39:21 > 0:39:25the girls go to school. And we had girls that have been kidnapped from
0:39:26 > 0:39:31school. By the traffickers? Yes, they want them back. They want them
0:39:32 > 0:39:36back. Living at the safe house is Anna. At
0:39:37 > 0:39:40just 14 years of, she was trafficked by a family friend for sexual
0:39:41 > 0:40:05exploitation, and forced into prostitution.
0:40:06 > 0:40:19For the next three months, and was prostituted, raped repeatedly by
0:40:20 > 0:40:25client after client. I know this is so hard, was this
0:40:26 > 0:40:37something that happened once a week, once a day? How often?
0:40:38 > 0:40:51How do you survive that, in your head?
0:40:52 > 0:41:04Could you escape? Why couldn't you leave?
0:41:05 > 0:41:36The men who raped her were all aged between 50 and 70.
0:41:37 > 0:41:41In terms of trying to get your life back, how are you managing to do
0:41:42 > 0:42:01that? Are you scared you will be
0:42:02 > 0:42:22trafficked again? Unlike Slovakia where the victims
0:42:23 > 0:42:26are harvested from impoverished communities, in this part of
0:42:27 > 0:42:30Romania, poverty isn't quite as endemic so the traffickers have to
0:42:31 > 0:42:43be more sophisticated. They go near schools. Internet.
0:42:44 > 0:42:53Social media, it's a source of recruiting. These girls will be
0:42:54 > 0:43:05raped, will be beaten, will be humiliated. You have a girl that is,
0:43:06 > 0:43:15has 5-9 clients a night. And the next day, she has two clean the
0:43:16 > 0:43:23toilets, make the breakfast for the trafficker, be nice to him. At some
0:43:24 > 0:43:26point, they give up. You cannot measure the damage. It's a broken
0:43:27 > 0:43:39life. It's a broken life. She tells me that the links between
0:43:40 > 0:43:43the UK and Romania have grown stronger in recent years and become
0:43:44 > 0:43:48ever more apparent. She tells me to head to a nearby town known as the
0:43:49 > 0:44:12Gypsy Palace Town. If you are looking for what they
0:44:13 > 0:44:21call Gypsy wealth, this is it come the town of Gypsy palaces. This is
0:44:22 > 0:44:26money on an unbelievable scale. I passed one of the biggest mansions
0:44:27 > 0:44:31in the town, and suddenly realise why I was sent here. Oh, my
0:44:32 > 0:44:37goodness, look at that. Look at that. British registration plate.
0:44:38 > 0:44:41British registration plate. British registration plate. What's that one?
0:44:42 > 0:44:48British registration plate. Every vehicle outside that particular
0:44:49 > 0:44:51Gypsy Palace, as they are called, is a British registration plate. In
0:44:52 > 0:45:03fact, the whole town is filled with them.
0:45:04 > 0:45:15Locale many British registration plates. Caravans, cars. If you
0:45:16 > 0:45:18needed any more evidence of the strong links between Eastern Europe
0:45:19 > 0:45:31and the UK and the amount of money flowing between the two, then look
0:45:32 > 0:45:35no further than here. Few prosecutions mean it is hard to
0:45:36 > 0:45:40fully understand what happens to victims once they've been
0:45:41 > 0:45:44trafficked. I'm on my way to meet a lawyer who helped the British police
0:45:45 > 0:45:56build cases against some of the most serious and organised trafficking
0:45:57 > 0:46:01gangs. Hi, nice to meet you. How wide you? She says once trafficked,
0:46:02 > 0:46:08the victims will be traded between the gangs who bid against each other
0:46:09 > 0:46:15during live auctions. The girl will be presented most of the time naked
0:46:16 > 0:46:22so the evaluation can go according to the way that girl would produce
0:46:23 > 0:46:31money. The women are forced to sleep with one of the traffickers and
0:46:32 > 0:46:35perceived how well she does it. The prices would be settled according to
0:46:36 > 0:46:40be a age, according to the appearance, whether that person is a
0:46:41 > 0:46:44virgin person or not a virgin person. That would also rise the
0:46:45 > 0:46:54price so she can start being exploited for prostitution, domestic
0:46:55 > 0:47:01exploitation, agriculture and begging. In terms of prices, what
0:47:02 > 0:47:10kind of prices? A few thousand euros. She says in pursuit of profit
0:47:11 > 0:47:18of the trafficking gangs have begun to diversify. There are very poor
0:47:19 > 0:47:25people who are willing to sell one of their organs or part of their
0:47:26 > 0:47:30organs. She shows me how an Internet search for kidneys reveals a list of
0:47:31 > 0:47:39people willing to sell their organs. That person is 18 years old. This is
0:47:40 > 0:47:46the price. 30,000 euros. For the kidney or a part of the liver of
0:47:47 > 0:47:4925,000 euros negotiable. The traffickers would take advantage of
0:47:50 > 0:47:53these people by making the arrangements for the harvesting of
0:47:54 > 0:48:00the organs? They would contact them and tell them, you are willing to
0:48:01 > 0:48:05sell your organs, I am having somebody who wants to buy it. After
0:48:06 > 0:48:10the operation took place, they would realise that they are not receiving
0:48:11 > 0:48:20the money and they have been trafficked. Would you want to try to
0:48:21 > 0:48:26call one of these numbers? Yes, we can call one now. I spot one of the
0:48:27 > 0:48:37members has a British prefix. She calls the number.
0:48:38 > 0:49:01I have asked, is the 50,000 euros the last price? I asked, do you know
0:49:02 > 0:49:05the contexts in which we can do this? He said, "I think it will be
0:49:06 > 0:49:23better in Romania but we can do it also here." In London? Yes. I am
0:49:24 > 0:49:28shocked by that. I am. Traffickers, regardless of their speciality, sex,
0:49:29 > 0:49:33labour, organs, have to move their victims quickly, easily and in large
0:49:34 > 0:49:37numbers. I've been told that buses run three times a week to the UK
0:49:38 > 0:49:49filled with people chasing work. It is the same bus which Sauron uses to
0:49:50 > 0:49:54bring his men over. It is the same one I filmed at the service station.
0:49:55 > 0:49:57How long does it take? It is a route I know the traffickers use, a route
0:49:58 > 0:50:17I want to capture on camera. It is early morning in Romania's
0:50:18 > 0:50:22capital, Bucharest. I'm on my way to a car park on the outskirts of the
0:50:23 > 0:50:29city. I'm told a minibus will pick me up. The man with me is security
0:50:30 > 0:50:34posing as my travelling companion. We ask for one-way tickets to
0:50:35 > 0:50:42Glasgow. The driver once ?165 each in sterling. Over the next ten
0:50:43 > 0:50:47hours, we had north begin up more and more Romania and passengers.
0:50:48 > 0:51:00We're driving to meet a long-distance coach that will take
0:51:01 > 0:51:08us to the UK. I just poured into a place and this is where we meet the
0:51:09 > 0:51:13bus and then we start from here across Austria, Germany, France. The
0:51:14 > 0:51:20bus seems to be preparing for a journey that is long haul in the UK.
0:51:21 > 0:51:31How long will you go to the UK for? One-year, two years. Where do you to
0:51:32 > 0:51:41work? Are you working there also? Construction? Wow! The bus is fall.
0:51:42 > 0:51:45Nearly all are going to the UK for work. Many in response to online
0:51:46 > 0:51:55adverts. Others going on the promise of a job. Head of this, three days,
0:51:56 > 0:52:05seven countries, 2000 miles. The film being shown as Romania and
0:52:06 > 0:52:16subtitles. That is a film about human trafficking. Why run it? This
0:52:17 > 0:52:3519-year-old is going to Crawley. Is the money good? ?118 a week? I am
0:52:36 > 0:52:40struggling with trying to work out the difference between those who are
0:52:41 > 0:52:58effectively trafficked on this bus or those who are being exploited.
0:52:59 > 0:53:04They pay for your accommodation and things? This man is heading to
0:53:05 > 0:53:15Coventry to work in a warehouse but it is not his first time working in
0:53:16 > 0:53:19the UK. Do you feel exploited their sometimes? You are working with ?4
0:53:20 > 0:53:38an hour? That is exploitation. When you speak to these people, they
0:53:39 > 0:53:42are full of hopes and dreams of something better waiting for them in
0:53:43 > 0:53:50the UK. I wonder how many of them will go on to realise they've been
0:53:51 > 0:54:04not only exploited, but conned and trafficked.
0:54:05 > 0:54:12Three days after leaving, we arrive at the same London service station I
0:54:13 > 0:54:15filmed at a few weeks earlier. As I watch everyone disappear into the
0:54:16 > 0:54:18night in minibuses for their new lives around the UK, I get into the
0:54:19 > 0:54:33one bound for Scotland. I wonder lives around the UK, I get into the
0:54:34 > 0:54:47which one of my travel companions being exploited will find out they
0:54:48 > 0:54:50have been trafficked. Back home, there is one thing to do. I call the
0:54:51 > 0:54:58have been trafficked. Back home, man in London selling his kidney. Is
0:54:59 > 0:55:04he one of the crawl aspects of the trafficking trade of organs or just
0:55:05 > 0:55:09desperate for money? We meet. He says he is called Adrian. With him
0:55:10 > 0:55:14as a woman he says is his wife. He is also selling her kidney. This is
0:55:15 > 0:55:35all very new for me. I tell him the kidney is for my
0:55:36 > 0:56:25cousin who is sick. Where will it take place?
0:56:26 > 0:56:32He tells me we need to make a private pavement the doctor carrying
0:56:33 > 0:56:44out the operation. The secret pavement of the doctor?
0:56:45 > 0:56:53-- payment. It is the woman's kidney he keeps referring to. She remains
0:56:54 > 0:57:04strangely quiet. Are you scared for your wife?
0:57:05 > 0:57:08His ease with this criminal approaches surprising bearing in
0:57:09 > 0:57:21mind his previous profession. He tells me he's aware traffickers
0:57:22 > 0:57:30are now targeting those selling organs.
0:57:31 > 0:57:40I tell him I'll be in touch and we say goodbye. Thank you so much,
0:57:41 > 0:57:52goodbye. When asked for comment by the BBC, he denied having a kidney
0:57:53 > 0:57:58for sale. Selling their own organs, buying into dreams, wanting the
0:57:59 > 0:58:07escape. I realise now these choices often are made over sheer
0:58:08 > 0:58:10desperation. Sometimes makes the victim is complicit in their own
0:58:11 > 0:58:15trafficking. Such is the need to chase the promise of something
0:58:16 > 0:58:19better and having seen what I have and heard from those who have lived
0:58:20 > 0:58:24at the heart of it, who can blame them?