Couple jailed for trafficking sex workers to UK

Married couple Attila Angyal and Melinda Petrovics have been jailed

A husband and wife have been jailed for trafficking Hungarian women to the UK for sex work.

Attila Angyal, 43, and Melinda Petrovics, 35 - both of Fortune Street in Bolton, Greater Manchester - were members of an organised crime ring running a network of brothels, the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit said.

Detectives said they found four Hungarian women were working as sex workers in the brothels, located across north-west England and Birmingham, who were being paid a fraction of what they had earned.

The pair were sentenced at Bolton Crown Court, with Angyal being jailed for seven years and seven months while Petrovics was jailed for six years and four months.

They had each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit human trafficking through sexual exploitation and conspiracy to control prostitution for gain.

The judge also imposed 10-year Slavery and Trafficking Prevention Orders on the couple.

The investigation began after concerned Lancashire Police officers visited a property in Blackburn, Lancashire, during which a woman identified herself as a sex worker and showed an officer an online ad for her services.

Det Sgt Jamie Illingworth said: "I'd like to recognise the bravery and co-operation of the victims in this case, who have been instrumental in securing this conviction."

He said the investigation involved a number of partner organisations including three police forces and charities "to ensure the victims were safeguarded and that the full scale of the crimes Angyal and Petrovics had committed could be proved".