An organised crime gang that has been trafficking women into Ireland to work as prostitutes has been "disrupted and dismantled" after a series of raids across the State and simultaneous searches at locations in Northern Ireland and Wales.
Nine brothels were searched in Cavan, Drogheda, Athlone, Mullingar, Sligo, Kilkenny, Enniscorthy, Newbridge, and Waterford, along with six other locations in Carlow.
Authorities in the North, where the operation started several months ago, said at least seven women have been rescued from prostitution in that time. They are understood to come from Brazil, Nigeria and Namibia.
Four women, ranging in age from mid-20s to early 50s, and two men, in their early 20s and 30s, were detained by gardaí this morning on suspicion of organising and managing prostitution. The six are being held at Garda stations in Carlow, Kildare, Naas, Kilkenny and Tullamore under section 4 of the Criminal Justice act 1984. This afternoon another man in his 20s was arrested in the Co Carlow area and taken to Athy Garda station for questioning.
Searches were also carried out in Newry, Co Down and in Pembrokeshire, Wales, along with a premises in England. A 47-year-old Irish man and a 31-year-old South African woman were taken into custody by police in Wales on suspicion of human trafficking for sexual exploitation and control of prostitution, while a woman was arrested in a flat in Newry for immigration offences.
Gardaí were involved in the cross-border operation in co-operation with the Police Service of Northern Ireland, Britain's Serious Organised Crime Agency, Dyfed Powys Police in Wales and the United Kingdom Border Agency, as part of an investigation into an organised crime gang suspected of involvement in prostitution and human trafficking.
The PSNI said the operation began as a result of inquiries being made during Operation Pentameter 2 last year into human trafficking and subsequent covert inquiries during the summer.
A PSNI spokesman said the crime gang in question was operating “through a network of mobile phones and on the internet”.
"In partnership with the guards we have identified at least eight women who have been trafficked into Ireland, North and South, and then forced into prostitution. Seven of them have been rescued from brothels, going back over a period of time," the spokesman added.
“We are regarding these victims as vulnerable females who have been trafficked in the main from non-EU countries. This investigation runs from Northern Ireland to the Republic to Wales to England and to South Africa.
"It covers all those locations because of the extent of the operation and because of the methods which this gang was using to human traffick to control prostitution and to launder money.
“This gang has certainly been disrupted and dismantled”.
The PSNI's Head of Organised Crime Branch, Detective Chief Superintendent Essie Adair said: "Our primary objective during this protracted operation has been to prevent human trafficking and rescue victims."
A Garda spokesman said gardaí had also seized computer equipment and documantation and that the operation was ongoing this evening.
Bob Lauder, Regional Director of Soca, said the operation was a sign to criminals that the net was tightening. "The message today is that no-one should feel confident that the UK is a soft environment to commit crime," he said.
Fine Gael's spokesman on immigration and integration, Denis Naughten, said that although the raids were to be welcomed, it was vital that suspected victims of human trafficking were provided with adequate protection and support.
“As things stand, victims of human trafficking have almost no entitlement to support from the State, let alone legal protection. Although some supports have been made available on an informal basis between the Department of Justice and the gardaí, the statutory rights of these victims are almost zero. There is a very real danger that in some circumstances the victims themselves will be treated as criminals," he said.
He said that although the new Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act passed by the Dáil earlier this year would make it easier for gardaí to take prosecutions in this area, victims needed to feel confident in talking to the authorities.
Chairwoman of Labour Women, Sinead Ni Chulachain, said the Garda operation was "reassuring".
"Human trafficking is a heinous crime taking place in Ireland, not just somewhere else," she said. "The public should have the courage to report any suspected cases of human trafficking as it is a crime we all have a duty to condemn and fight."
Sinn Féin MLA for Newry Mickey Brady welcomed today's raids.
"Those who are trafficked live in constant fear, with little local knowledge, many times not having been provided with the right documentation in order to stay in the country they are brought to," he said.
"I believe that some of the women rescued were forced into prostitution. Given what they have been through it is essential that they should be given all the care and support that we can provide in order to help them regain their lives."