FIFTEEN "sex slaves" from south-east Asia have been found working in Scotland's sex industry, following a major crackdown on human trafficking.
Young women trafficked from China, Malaysia and Singapore were rescued from brothels and flats in cities and towns across the country during the six-month operation, called Pentameter 2.
Some paid thousands of pounds to be brought to Scotland unde
r the false belief they would get legitimate work as waitresses or au pairs.
Chinese "snakehead" gangsters are believed to have issued them with false passports and documentation.
However, after arriving in Scotland, they had their papers taken from them and were coerced into working in the sex trade to repay their debts.
During the six-month operation police came into contact with 59 women, largely from south-east Asia and eastern Europe, suspected to have been trafficked into the country.
Most were found to have travelled to the UK with the purpose of working as prostitutes, enabling them to earn vast amounts more than they would at home.
However, police yesterday said raids on more than 50 Scottish premises, including 43 properties and 11 massage parlours, uncovered 15 women who were "classic" victims of human trafficking.
Superintendent Michael Orr of Strathclyde Police, who is chairman of the Scottish Human Trafficking Group, said: "Operation Pentameter 2 has shown that there are criminals engaged in human trafficking throughout Scotland.
"During the six-month operation, 35 suspects were arrested in Scotland for a variety of offences and, in some cases, cash was seized from the premises."
Supt Orr declined to estimate how big the problem was, but he said there was a "steady supply" of trafficked women travelling to Scotland to work in brothels.
"We've got to keep working hard at this, and we really need the public's help," he said. "If anyone has any concerns about someone living close by, they should contact us."
Most of the 35 people are being prosecuted for a range of offences, including running an illegal brothel and breaches of the Proceeds of Crime Act. In February, four Chinese sex slaves in their twenties were rescued from properties in Stirling and Grangemouth.
In another case, Li Zhang, 47, a Chinese woman who sold a trafficked sex worker, was deported after she was arrested during a raid on an illegal brothel in Falkirk last December.
Kenny MacAskill, the justice secretary, said: "The Scottish Government is committed to tackling the appalling trafficking in human beings and the misery it causes.
"Pentameter 2 is a vital part of the ongoing battle against this despicable 'trade'."
Fears of more misery for 'freed' women who vanishSOME of the trafficked sex workers recovered from vice dens in Scotland under Operation Pentameter 2 are facing yet more misery.
The Scotsman understands that a number of the 15 south-east Asian women "rescued" have since disappeared, despite efforts to give them support.
A number of Chinese "sex slaves" were offered accommodation and other support. Despite being illegal immigrants, they would even have been allowed to stay in the country if they wished. Police fear they may eventually be tracked down by the gangs that brought them to Scotland in the first place. Some remain debt-bonded to their traffickers.
A source said: "These people are extremely vulnerable and deeply suspicious of authority. Police and others want to help them, but there's not much we can do once they've run away."
Ann Hamilton, of Glasgow-based Trafficking Awareness Raising Alliance, said some rescued women still felt compelled to work in the sex industry to avoid their families being targeted by criminal gangs.
