International prostitution gang jailed

5 February 2010

An organised crime gang who were all members of one family have been given prison sentences totalling 12 years for running a prostitution ring which fielded 300 client calls a day and used trafficked women and girls - some of them as young as 15.

Thomas Carroll at Cardiff Wales Airport Thomas Carroll, his partner Shamiela Clark, and Mr Carroll’s 25 year old daughter Toma pleaded guilty at Cardiff Crown Court.

The family ran their business from a rented house in Castlemartin in Wales. One room was a dedicated call centre where they coordinated their clients’ calls.

Some women were recruited through advertisements on the internet. Others were trafficked from Nigeria into the UK believing they were escaping to a better life. They were told they would be educated and become hairdressers or seamstresses. Instead they were subjected to African rituals designed to frighten them into compliance. They were then forced into prostitution. All the money they made was taken back to pay off their ‘debt’.

The joint investigation by SOCA, the Police Service of Northern Ireland, Dyfed Powys Police and An Garda Siochana, originated during Pentameter 2, a coordinated UK wide operation into human trafficking.

When officers raided the house in Castlemartin in December 2008 they found more than 70 mobile phones connected to advertisements on the internet, rate sheets listing services, and leaflets with directions to brothels in Ireland.

Mobile phones used by the gang

Mark Philips, SOCA Deputy Director, said:

“Criminals running operations like this think they are untouchable. They exploit borders, treat people as commodities for profit and destroy their victims’ lives.”

Sarah Dillon of the CPS Organised Crime Division said:

“I was very impressed with the courage of the women who were ready to give evidence against Thomas Carroll and Shamiela Clark.

“This case sends a strong warning to organised criminals that people who operate like this in England and Wales to inflict misery in countries outside our jurisdiction can still be pursued and successfully prosecuted. ”