British police have reportedly freed twenty-four men who were held at a Bedfordshire traveller site in "shockingly filthy and cramped" conditions for up to 15 years
British police have reportedly freed twenty-four men who were held at a Bedfordshire traveller site in "shockingly filthy and cramped" conditions for up to 15 years
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Police arrested five people and are searching for more victims and suspects at Greenacre caravan site in Leighton Buzzard.
Officers believe other suspects they intended to arrest in raid had left the site and warned that slaves could also have been moved, the Independent reports.
According to the report, police also found weapons, drugs and money at the site.
Detective Chief Inspector Sean O''Neil said the men were "recruited" from soup kitchens and benefits offices.
"They''re told, if you come here we''ll pay you 80 pounds a day and give you board and lodgings. But when they get here, their hair is cut off them, they''re kept in some cases in horseboxes, dog kennels and old caravans, made to work for no money, given very, very small amounts of food," the paper quoted O''Neil, as saying.
"The men we found at the site were in a poor state of physical health and the conditions they were living in were shockingly filthy and cramped," O''Neil said.
"Some people did leave and told us what was going on and when we looked back since 2008 we were aware of 28 people who had made similar accusations," he added.
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