Four traffickers sentenced to total 23 years for smuggling Thai women into UK brothels

In a seven-week trial at Woolwich Crown Court, four defendants—Achareeya Spurr, Chin Ping, Ugur Sahin and Sarunyoo Siriwan—were convicted of conspiracy to commit human trafficking, control prostitution for gain and handling criminal property, receiving sentences that add up to 23 years in prison. Investigators uncovered a network that brought 24 Thai women to the United Kingdom, often under the guise of legitimate visitor visas, and forced them to work in at least 26 brothels in London and Kent to repay fabricated debts of tens of thousands of pounds.

The gang confiscated the victims’ passports, sometimes referred to a woman known as “Freya,” to maintain control. Police raids recovered £57,145 in cash, designer watches, handbags and three passports, and linked the operation to a vehicle crossing the English Channel from the Netherlands. Metropolitan Police’s modern slavery unit highlighted the sophisticated nature of the enterprise, while victim-support group Justice & Care praised the courage of survivors and the inter-agency cooperation that led to the convictions. Authorities urge the public to report modern-slavery concerns via 101 or Crimestoppers.