London: British police have arrested more than 500 suspects in a crackdown on human trafficking in the sex trade, the government said.

The Home Office yesterday said the majority of the 167 victims identified originated from China, south-east Asia and eastern Europe. Most were women, with the youngest aged just 14.

Police made 528 arrests in the operation, codenamed Pentameter 2,after raiding 822 premises, of which 157 were massage parlours and 582 houses and flats.

The government said the high proportion of private residences being used showed the "covert nature" of human trafficking for prostitution.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said "Human trafficking is a despicable crime, perpetrated by organised criminal gangs whose business is to make money from human misery.

"Human trafficking has no place in modern society and I am absolutely determined that we continue to take tough action to disrupt these criminal gangs."

She reiterated that the British government signed a Council of Europe Convention on Human Trafficking last year and will ratify it by the end of this year.

Tim Brain, the chief constable of Gloucestershire Police in south-west England which led the operation, said it had served a dual purpose.

"As a direct result of Pentameter 2,more than 160 vulnerable people have been saved from lives of abuse, exploitation and misery," he said.

"Perhaps even more importantly, Pentameter 2 has been instrumental in seriously disrupting the organised crime networks responsible for human trafficking."

Source : PTI