Indian-origin man jailed for human trafficking in UK

An Indian-origin man is among five members of a human trafficking ring jailed for a total of 34 years by a British court.

Ramesh Mali, 31, was sentenced to two-and-half years in prison at Wood Green Crown Court last week for conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration after it emerged that he forcibly married a woman brought to the UK from Hungary as part of a prostitution ring.

Earlier this year, Scotland Yard was contacted by a woman who said she was being forced to work as a prostitute in london after being brought into the country in March 2010.

According to the 'Barnet Press' newspaper, the Metropolitan Police found that she was being beaten and was forced to undergo a sham marriage and open bank accounts in her name.

Besides Mali, investigations led to the arrest of Sandor Jonas, Anita Viktoria Maule and her brother Victor Maule as well as solicitor Chika Ike Michael who arranged the sham marriage.

Detectives travelled to Hungary and were able to identify a second victim who had been trafficked in to the UK in 2005 and held until 2010.

Jonas was found guilty of conspiracy to traffic persons into and within the UK for the purpose of sexual exploitation, conspiracy to control prostitution and conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration into the UK. He was sentenced to a total of 10 years in jail.

Anita Maule was found guilty of the same charges and sentenced to a total of 11 years behind bars.

Victor Maule pleaded guilty to conspiracy to control prostitution for gain, conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration into the UK, possession of an imitation firearm, possession of a prohibited weapon and possession of two offensive weapons. He was jailed for five and a half years.

Michael was found guilty of conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration and was sentenced to five years in jail.

After the conclusion of the case Detective Constable Natalia Barrett of the Met's Human Trafficking and Exploitation Unit, said: "The defendants were part of a highly organised criminal network who deliberately targeted vulnerable young women in the hope they would be too scared to contact police, or if they did, would not be believed.

"The police take such allegations very seriously and I would like to encourage victims of trafficking to come forward and seek help."