:00:11. > :00:13.A gang who forced vulnerabld Eastern Europeans into slavdry
:00:14. > :00:17.in Plymouth has been found guilty of human trafficking offencds.
:00:18. > :00:20.The five Czech nationals made hundreds of thousands of potnds
:00:21. > :00:23.when they made the men work in factories, car washes
:00:24. > :00:28.The victims were beaten and faced death threats.
:00:29. > :00:31.The gang members will be sentenced on Friday.
:00:32. > :00:35.Here's our home affairs correspondent Simon Hall.
:00:36. > :00:38.The gang's victims were forced to sleep in cupboards and g`rages,
:00:39. > :00:43.They were even charged ?1 a time to use the toilet.
:00:44. > :00:47.This note demanding payment was stuck to the door.
:00:48. > :00:50.Most of the victims' earnings were kept by the gang.
:00:51. > :00:53.Here one member brandishes some of the money she has just whthdrawn
:00:54. > :00:59.It was shocking in terms of the conditions they were kept under.
:01:00. > :01:03.I think the interesting thing within this case was the control.
:01:04. > :01:05.The organised crime that took away their access to fundamdntal
:01:06. > :01:09.rights and fundamental access to money, to food,
:01:10. > :01:13.to contact and that social cohesion, it was that control
:01:14. > :01:20.Victims were trafficked by the gang from the Czech Republic
:01:21. > :01:25.They were then forced into domestic slavery, cleaning, cooking
:01:26. > :01:29.and doing laundry, or to work in factories and car washes.
:01:30. > :01:32.They were also told to shoplift and commit benefit fraud to make
:01:33. > :01:36.Police estimate dozens of mdn were trafficked over
:01:37. > :01:38.a period of several years, making the gang hundreds
:01:39. > :01:46.In their enquiries across Plymouth here and much of Devon and Cornwall,
:01:47. > :01:49.the police found victims were being forced to work 12 hours
:01:50. > :01:54.a day, six days a week but only given pocket money to live on.
:01:55. > :01:56.Some were left so hungry they were seen foraging in bins
:01:57. > :01:59.for food, while members of the gang wore designer clothes.
:02:00. > :02:04.The gang were also happy to humiliate their victims,
:02:05. > :02:07.making them sleep next to expensive toys they had bought
:02:08. > :02:11.for their children and wash their cars until they were spotless
:02:12. > :02:17.Ruzena Tancosova was the le`der of the gang, described
:02:18. > :02:22.Petr Tancos was the muscle, using a baseball bat to ass`ult
:02:23. > :02:27.Nela Dzurkova helped transport the victims and take
:02:28. > :02:31.Martin Tancos was responsible for finding victims
:02:32. > :02:38.Katerina Kurejova housed thd victims and helped to control them.
:02:39. > :02:43.They were certainly living `n easy life on other people's monex.
:02:44. > :02:45.They were happy to do that, they were happy to exploit these
:02:46. > :02:48.people, and they were happy just to let them slip
:02:49. > :02:55.It is the cynicism which seems really quite hard
:02:56. > :02:59.for us to understand, but it was definitely going on.
:03:00. > :03:02.The family were finally caught in a series of police raids after two
:03:03. > :03:06.victims went to the authorities to try to escape.
:03:07. > :03:09.It is a mark of the gang's ruthlessness and the cynicism that
:03:10. > :03:12.all their victims were vulndrable - drug addicts, alcoholics
:03:13. > :03:21.Well, our reporter Janine Jansen joins us now.
:03:22. > :03:24.How widespread is modern day slavery?
:03:25. > :03:49.They have seen more victims referred to them and ever before and in the
:03:50. > :04:01.last five years they have hdlped more than ?4005 4500 victim 's.
:04:02. > :04:07.Today's cases not isolated. There are dozens like it in Devon and
:04:08. > :04:10.Cornwall. The police think they slavery is horrific and everyone
:04:11. > :04:11.needs to be better at spotthng it and reporting it.
:04:12. > :04:14.We have to raise and have raised our game, but equallx we have
:04:15. > :04:18.We have to hunt down the slavers in a way
:04:19. > :04:22.that is ethical and within the law, but we need community intelligence
:04:23. > :04:24.and we are also putting mord dedicated assets into this,
:04:25. > :04:28.because trafficking in human beings is not about foreign nation`ls,
:04:29. > :04:31.it is about UK nationals and it is about people.
:04:32. > :04:39.It is someone's mother, son, father, daughter that is being subjtgated
:04:40. > :04:45.in a way that we have not sden since nearly almost Roman thmes
:04:46. > :04:47.It is inhumane and these are the communities,
:04:48. > :04:50.Devon and Cornwall, that have stepped up and said this
:04:51. > :04:52.is unacceptable, so let's m`ke this a place where modern
:04:53. > :05:03.Police are there to help but how does somebody subjected to lodern
:05:04. > :05:10.day slavery still confident to come forward? If they have a phone they
:05:11. > :05:15.can ring the police helplind or if they can go online, they can get
:05:16. > :05:22.hold of the Salvation Army. Some of the victims, from countries that do
:05:23. > :05:26.not trust the police, or ask your neighbour. If you can walk `way the
:05:27. > :05:30.police say they will help you get to safety.
:05:31. > :05:32.The first child refugees from the Jungle camp in Cal`is have
:05:33. > :05:35.started to arrive at a centre in North Devon.
:05:36. > :05:37.20 teenagers arrived by coach at a respite centre in the darly
:05:38. > :05:41.Devon County Council says up to 70 are expected altogether
:05:42. > :05:43.and Cornwall Council has confirmed it will take ten young
:05:44. > :05:50.From the depths of the Jungle camp of northern France
:05:51. > :05:56.At three in the morning, 20 child migrants arrived
:05:57. > :06:02.These children are in a pretty poor state and so they need all the help
:06:03. > :06:05.they can get to make sure they are fit to move
:06:06. > :06:12.Devon County Council is asshsting the Home Office which is organising
:06:13. > :06:18.It got off to a controversi`l start when some questioned the agd
:06:19. > :06:25.The MP for the area said he spoke to the Home Secretary personally.
:06:26. > :06:29.I am assured that these children will have been screened,
:06:30. > :06:32.they will not be suspected of being over 18, any suspected
:06:33. > :06:40.will be retained in London, they will not be coming to Devon.
:06:41. > :06:42.Torrington is the nearest town to the temporary centre
:06:43. > :06:51.I came here as an immigrant myself and was welcomed with open `rms
:06:52. > :06:55.not nearly from a traumatic background but please,
:06:56. > :06:58.more should be welcome, we have room here.
:06:59. > :07:02.With young children, I don't have a problem,
:07:03. > :07:06.but if they are young men that are coming here to work
:07:07. > :07:11.here and to reap our benefits system, that is wrong.
:07:12. > :07:16.It emerged that Cornwall Cotncil has agreed to take some child mhgrants.
:07:17. > :07:19.We have been in negotiations with the Home Office and Sotth West
:07:20. > :07:25.councils and we will take up to ten 16-17 year olds up to April.
:07:26. > :07:28.In the next few days, more child migrants will be
:07:29. > :07:38.He was a very much loved local bobby on the beat and today a building has
:07:39. > :07:43.PC Andy Hocking, who died stddenly aged 52, was known by almost
:07:44. > :07:48.When he died last year, thousands of people marched
:07:49. > :07:51.through the streets of the town as a sign of respect.
:07:52. > :07:53.A building at Police Headqu`rters Middlemoor has been named after him,
:07:54. > :07:56.because he epitomised everything that is good about
:07:57. > :08:05.He engaged with everyone wh`tever background they came from,
:08:06. > :08:08.whether it was the rich, whether it was the poor,
:08:09. > :08:10.whether it was a street cleaner or the local MP.
:08:11. > :08:16.He spoke to everyone in the same manner.
:08:17. > :08:19.There's been some heavy rain across the South West today.
:08:20. > :08:22.There were traffic problems in West Cornwall when the volume
:08:23. > :08:25.of water forced mud onto the road at the Ponsharden
:08:26. > :08:42.There has continued to be some heavy rain this evening, thunder,
:08:43. > :08:47.lightning. It is very unple`sant. Good evening. There is a bit more
:08:48. > :08:52.heavy rain to come. This evdning we will see the last of the he`vy
:08:53. > :08:57.stuff. They're after it becomes mainly dry again as we see `n area
:08:58. > :09:03.of high pressure turned up. But at the moment there is some he`vy rain.
:09:04. > :09:09.The big picture for the next five or six days, it is mostly dry. It will
:09:10. > :09:14.turn milder with higher temperatures but also the increasing risk of fog
:09:15. > :09:18.and mist. We have some of that overnight the night. Eventu`lly we
:09:19. > :09:25.pressure turned up. It is thereby pressure turned up. It is thereby
:09:26. > :09:30.the middle of the week and this area of high pressure stays with us. It
:09:31. > :09:37.is here for Thursday, Fridax and takes charge of the weather across
:09:38. > :09:40.southern England for the wedkend. Air coming up from the south
:09:41. > :09:47.bringing us higher temperattres so it will turn Mulder. Let's focus on
:09:48. > :09:53.that rain. The brighter colours here, that is where the heavy bursts
:09:54. > :10:00.have been. Still a bit more to come so if you are travelling, pretty
:10:01. > :10:04.awful driving conditions. The next few hours turning quite misty. Most
:10:05. > :10:10.of the rain gone by the morning but it will take its time beford it
:10:11. > :10:14.finally clears. Very stagnant air. Nothing moving quickly so it is
:10:15. > :10:20.great, misty and damp to st`rt with tomorrow morning. Then tomorrow we
:10:21. > :10:26.will start to see an improvdment from the West. Parts of Cornwall
:10:27. > :10:31.seeing the sunshine fast and temperatures of 15, possiblx 16
:10:32. > :10:37.degrees. By the time we get to Wednesday, mist, low cloud `nd some
:10:38. > :10:42.fog first thing. That should clear and then some sunny spells `nd the
:10:43. > :10:46.rest of the day mainly dry. That is the way the week goes. More mist and
:10:47. > :10:52.fog towards the end of the week which will be slow to clear. Weather
:10:53. > :10:54.and travel updates on your local radio station tomorrow mornhng. From
:10:55. > :11:02.us here, good night. around 60 degrees. Towards the
:11:03. > :11:03.weekend, more of the same, mainly dry and feeling very mild. Now your
:11:04. > :11:11.national weather. Good evening, major changes in the
:11:12. > :11:17.weather over the next couple of days, the result being it will turn
:11:18. > :11:21.milder by day and also by night A breeze picking up, a westerly,
:11:22. > :11:25.something we have not seen much of this month. But there will not be a
:11:26. > :11:30.great deal of rain around. We did have rain today across the
:11:31. > :11:35.south-west, leaden skies in Bristol, not much of a sunset here, but the
:11:36. > :11:46.different North of the border. Fiery skies here and it is turning chilly,
:11:47. > :11:48.a frost in the Highlands. Underneath the clear skies. Across Southern
:11:49. > :11:51.parts of England into the Midlands and parts of Wales, more cloud.
:11:52. > :11:54.Patchy rain towards the South East. Heavy at at times along the South
:11:55. > :11:55.coast but temperatures do not fall much. Northern Wales and