Netwing Beetle (Dictyopterous Simplicipes)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Operation Netwing is a long-running United Kingdom law enforcement endeavour, headed by Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit (BHMCU), investigating allegations of
forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, or violence, including death or other forms of ...
and
human trafficking Human trafficking is the act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, or receiving individuals through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of exploitation. This exploitation may include forced labor, sexual slavery, or oth ...
in
Bedfordshire, England Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckinghamshire to the we ...
by
Irish Travellers Irish Travellers (, meaning ''the walking people''), also known as Mincéirs ( Shelta: ''Mincéirí'') or Pavees, are a traditionally peripatetic indigenous ethno-cultural group originating in Ireland.''Questioning Gypsy identity: ethnic na ...
. BHMCU is the first combined major crime investigation team in the UK, composed of officers from
Bedfordshire Police Bedfordshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire in England, which includes the unitary authorities of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Luton. Its headquarters are in the town of ...
and
Hertfordshire Constabulary Hertfordshire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Hertfordshire in England. Its headquarters is in Welwyn Garden City. The current chief constable is Andy Prophet. As of March 2019, the force consist ...
, established to "give greater capacity for responding to the most serious crimes."


Background

In April 2011, a man complained to Bedfordshire Police that he had been "enslaved, frequently beaten and threatened with more violence after being offered work outside a job centre." The allegations centred on Greenacres Caravan Park, an
Irish Traveller Irish Travellers (, meaning ''the walking people''), also known as Mincéirs (Shelta: ''Mincéirí'') or Pavees, are a traditionally List of nomadic peoples#Peripatetic, peripatetic Indigenous peoples, indigenous Ethnic group, ethno-cultural g ...
site in Little Billington, Bedfordshire. The allegations led to the launch of the operation, which began with several months of undercover observation and covert intelligence gathering, involving the
Serious Organised Crime Agency The Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) was a non-departmental public body of the Government of the United Kingdom which existed from 1 April 2006 until 7 October 2013. SOCA was a national law enforcement agency with Home Office sponsorship, e ...
's Human Trafficking Centre. Police concluded the site was "the hub of a multi-million pound trafficking operation that spans beyond the UK", and that some of the men may have been moved to
Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...
and other parts of
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
to work. During 2011 police forces from four other counties in England raided Irish Traveller sites in connection with forced labour and human trafficking.


Greenacres Caravan Park raid

At 0530
UTC Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the primary time standard globally used to regulate clocks and time. It establishes a reference for the current time, forming the basis for civil time and time zones. UTC facilitates international communica ...
on 11 September 2011, approximately 100 police officers from BHMCU and other specialist units including the dog section, force helicopter and Authorised Firearms Officers, raided the caravan park to execute
search warrant A search warrant is a court order that a magistrate or judge issues to authorize Police, law enforcement officers to conduct a Search and seizure, search of a person, location, or vehicle for evidence of a crime and to Confiscation, confiscate an ...
s. As a result, four men and one woman were arrested and a further 24 men, all believed to be victims of slavery, were taken from the site. The arrests were made under the provisions of Section 71 of the
Coroners and Justice Act 2009 The Coroners and Justice Act 2009 (c. 25) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It changed the law on coroners and criminal justice in England and Wales. Among its provisions are: *Preventing criminals from profiting from public ...
, implemented in April 2010 to comply with
Article 4 of the European Convention on Human Rights Article 4 of the European Convention on Human Rights prohibits slavery and forced labour. Conscription, national service, prison labour, service exacted in cases of emergency or calamity, and "normal civic obligations" are excepted from these defi ...
, which made it a criminal offence to hold someone "in slavery or servitude, or requir them to perform forced or compulsory labour." The youngest of the 24 was a 17-year-old boy, who, when released, returned to his family. Nine of the freed men later discharged themselves from hospital and refused to assist police. One of the nine accused the police of heavy-handed tactics, saying he had lived on the caravan site for several years working as a paver for £50 a day, claiming many of the other men were similarly paid. Initial news reports claimed that the police had been warned 28 previous times that captives were being held at the caravan park, or that 28 captives escaped, but officers explained that this was "a misunderstanding", and that the witness whose allegation had launched the operation in April had told them that 28 people were still being held as slaves. Most of the 24 were said to have been homeless or suffering from alcoholism. Police also found drugs, money and weapons during the raid. Of the fifteen freed men helping police, eight were of British nationality, three Polish, one Latvian and one Lithuanian, with two men of unconfirmed nationality, and ranged in age from 30 to 57 years. They were being housed temporarily at a
British Red Cross The British Red Cross Society () is the United Kingdom body of the worldwide neutral and impartial humanitarian network the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with 1 ...
rest centre set up to provide shelter for them while alternative accommodation was found and other necessary arrangements made. A Red Cross spokesperson said: "Our emergency response volunteers are offering emotional support and giving the men any practical help they need, such as clothing and hygiene kits. We have also provided recreational activities such as games, a radio and DVDs." On 12 September 2011, the
Crown Prosecution Service The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is the principal public agency for conducting criminal prosecutions in England and Wales. It is headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions. The main responsibilities of the CPS are to provide legal adv ...
(CPS) announced that Tommy Connors (30), Patrick Connors (19), James Connors (34) and James Connors (23) had been charged with "conspiracy to hold a person in servitude and requiring them to perform forced labour" and were remanded in custody to appear at Luton Magistrates' Court on 13 September 2011. A spokesman CPS Thames and Chiltern Complex Casework Unit explained: "These charges relate to four victims who allege they have been held against their will and forced to live and work like slaves." A fifth person arrested, a woman, Josie Connors (aged 30), whom police revealed was pregnant, was originally released on police bail to be questioned further following the "imminent" birth of her child. However, on 15 September, she was charged with four offences related to activities at the Greenacres site. At a subsequent hearing, on 22 September, she was remanded on bail until 5 December 2011, on condition that she remained at home and only left to give birth at
Stoke Mandeville Hospital Stoke Mandeville Hospital is a large National Health Service (NHS) hospital located on the parish borders of Aylesbury and Stoke Mandeville, Buckinghamshire, England. It is managed by Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust. It was established ...
,
Aylesbury Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery and the Aylesbury Waterside Theatre, Waterside Theatre. It is located in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wycombe and Milt ...
. Speaking on 12 September Detective Chief Inspector (DCI) Sean O'Neil of BHMCU said: "I am confident that while the investigation is in its early stages this is a family-run 'business' and is an
organised crime Organized crime is a category of transnational, national, or local group of centralized enterprises run to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally thought of as a form of illegal business, some ...
group that has been broken up by the Netwing operation." DCI O'Neil explained: "Some of these people have come out covered in excrement and dirty clothing because that was all they were allowed to live in. After being cared for, given food and fresh clothing, we hope to then interview them. That in itself will take a long time because these people are institutionalized. One person we know has been here fifteen years, so to him this is normal life." On 21 September 2011, three further arrests took place at the caravan park. One of those arrested, Johnny Connors (30), was charged later that day with four offences including conspiracy to hold someone in servitude, and conspiracy to require someone to perform forced labour. The other two arrested were a woman (61) remanded in custody, and a man (51) who was released on police bail pending medical treatment. Tommy Conners (senior; aged 51) was subsequently charged on 3 October 2011 with 11 offences of conspiracy to place people in servitude or forced labour. On 5 December 2011, 7 people arrested in this case appeared at Luton Crown Court on 16 counts of conspiracy to hold a person in servitude and requiring a person to perform
forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, or violence, including death or other forms of ...
. They are: *Tommy Connors, Sr. (51) *Johnny Connors (30; son of Tommy) *Josie Connors (30; daughter of Tommy) *James Connors (33; son-in-law of Tommy) *Tommy Connors, Jr. (26, son of Tommy) *James (Jimmy) Connors (23; son of Tommy) *Patrick Connors (19; son of Tommy) Only Josie was released on bail and the rest were kept in custody. On 11 July 2012, Tommy Connors senior, James John Connors, Patrick Connors, and Josie Connors were convicted of controlling, exploiting, verbally abusing and beating the men for financial gain at the caravan site near Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire. The trial lasted 13 weeks.


Reactions

Andrew Selous Andrew Edmund Armstrong Selous (; born 27 April 1962) is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for South West Bedfordshire from 2001 until 2024, when the constituency was abolished. Selous stood for the new Dunstab ...
, MP for South West Bedfordshire, told the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
: "Following this weekend's utterly despicable revelations of the way in which twenty-four of my constituents have been kept as slaves, some for fifteen years, I'd like to commend the robust action of Bedfordshire Police in bringing this to light", and asked the Government to "pay particular attention to the issue of internal trafficking within the UK, given that seventeen of these twenty-four slaves were British citizens."
Damian Green Damian Howard Green (born 17 January 1956) is a British politician who served as First Secretary of State and Minister for the Cabinet Office from June to December 2017 in the second May government. A member of the Conservative Party, he s ...
MP,
Minister of State for Immigration The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Migration and Citizenship is a ministerial position in the Home Office of the Government of the United Kingdom His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Governm ...
said the incident "came as a shock to many of us. What we saw was effective police action, co-ordinated in many ways by the Serious Organised Crime Agency. The new
National Crime Agency The National Crime Agency (NCA) is a Law enforcement agency#natlea, national law enforcement agency in the United Kingdom. It is the UK's lead agency against organised crime; Human trafficking, human, Arms trafficking, weapon and Illegal drug t ...
(NCA) will have among its functions co-ordinating activity against trafficking, both domestic and international, which will give us a much more effective way of combating this particularly vile crime." Klara Skrivankova, Trafficking Programme Coordinator at
Anti-Slavery International Anti-Slavery International, founded as the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society in 1839, is an international non-governmental organization, international non-governmental organisation, registered charity and advocacy group, based in the Unit ...
, said: "Slavery and this case which appears to be a case of forced labour is a reality in Britain today but I think what it shows to us is that the police have finally been given proper powers in the new law that has been mentioned in order to investigate and really go after those who are still behaving like slave-masters in the 21st century." In an article on 16 April 2008, Dr Donald Kenrick, an expert on the
Romany language Romani ( ; also Romanes , Romany, Roma; ) is an Indo-Aryan macrolanguage of the Romani people. The largest of these are Vlax Romani (about 500,000 speakers), Balkan Romani (600,000), and Sinte Romani (300,000). Some Romani communities sp ...
, is quoted as saying "Dossers are people gipsies pick up to work for them. They are sometimes called slaves or servants. ... It is common among Irish travellers, but the English do it as well." However he disputed that they were really slaves, saying that the practice meant that otherwise vulnerable people were being cared for. He said the travellers favoured single men, who were strong workers, but of poor mental health.


Other related raids at Traveller sites

The 2011 series of police investigations on Travellers' sites began after the decomposed body of Christopher Nicholls, missing since 2005, was found in March 2008 near the Beggars Roost caravan site in
Staverton, Gloucestershire Staverton is a village between the city of Gloucester and the town of Cheltenham in Gloucestershire, England, in the Tewkesbury (borough), borough of Tewkesbury. The population taken at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 572. It is ...
.


Enderby and Pleasley

Around 27 March 2011, simultaneous raids were carried out at Traveller sites in
Enderby, Leicestershire Enderby is a village and civil parish in Leicestershire, England, on the southwest outskirts of the city of Leicester. The parish includes the neighbourhood of St John's, which is east of the village separated from it by the M1 motorway. The ...
, where eight alleged slaves were found, and Pleasley, Derbyshire, where seven alleged slaves were found. William Connors' son John Connors was arrested at the Pleasley site, and his son-in-law Miles Connors at the Enderby site.


Hamble

On 24 June 2011, John Conners (26), Jerry Conners (19), and Eileen Conners (59) were arrested and charged with offences under section 71 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 after 120 police officers raided a Travellers' site at Hamble, Hampshire to execute a series of warrants as part of Operation Helm.


Pulmer Water

On 16 September 2011, 50 police raided a travellers' camp at Pulmer Water near
Codicote Codicote ( ) is a village and civil parish in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. It lies south of Hitchin, its post town, and north of Welwyn. Codicote was a small market town between the 13th and 16th centuries. The ...
,
Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...
, and there found and removed four Chinese nationals (3 men and a woman) and two British men who were suspected of being held as slaves. It is suspected that the four Chinese were illegally trafficked into Britain.


Previously reported cases of enslavement on Traveller sites


Crays Hill

In a court case in May 1999 one John Williams described how the previous year he was taken from London to
Basildon Basildon ( ) is a town in Borough of Basildon, the borough of the same name, in the county of Essex, England. It had a recorded population of 115,955 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census. In 1931, the town had a population of 1,159. ...
, forced to work all day and then locked in a stable at
Crays Hill Crays Hill is a village in the Basildon borough of Essex, England. The River Crouch passes under Church Lane. It is also the home of Nomad golfer Bulldog, who with Ronseal in 2025 beat Hewey. However, he was defeated by Hewey in the singles. Th ...
. He was threatened and told he would have to stay for 6 months but managed to escape the next day.


Hargnies, Mauberge, France

In Hargnies, near Mauberge in northeast France on 14 December 2005, eight travellers were arrested for keeping six slaves and using them for forced harvest work.


See also

*
Debt bondage Debt bondage, also known as debt slavery, bonded labour, or peonage, is the pledge of a person's services as security for the repayment for a debt or other obligation. Where the terms of the repayment are not clearly or reasonably stated, or whe ...


References

{{Irish Travellers Irish Traveller-related controversies Irish Travellers in the United Kingdom 2011 in England Forced labour Human trafficking in the United Kingdom Labour in the United Kingdom Netwing Netwing