Sex trafficking in Scotland: Fears gangs will bring in foreign prostitutes for 2014 Commonwealth Games

Daily Record.co.uk

Nov 29 2011 Kevan Christie

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There are worries Glasgow could be flooded with foreign prostitutes ahead of 2014 Commonwealth Games
THE 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow could become a magnet for sex traffickers, Scotland's leading human rights lawyer has warned.
Baroness Helena Kennedy said the event will attract a crowd of sports fans seeking prostitutes while away from home.
The 61-year-old launched the findings of her inquiry into human trafficking in Scotland in Edinburgh yesterday.
She said: "These type of big sporting events are used as a cover for all kinds of criminal activity."
The findings of her inquiry criticise the short-fall in public or professional awareness in Scotland of human trafficking and says police have a "significant" intelligence gap on the problem.
The report looks into all aspects of human trafficking but focuses on "commercial sexual exploitation".
Baroness Kennedy said: "With large sporting events like the Commonwealth Games, you get more people coming into the country and the border controls become softer.
"The police have told me the increase in cheap flights makes it easier for groups of men to travel abroad to sporting events and stag parties.
"This is known as the gang of guys phenomena - where men are more likely to try things they wouldn't at home.
"The criminal gangs know this and foreign prostitutes are trafficked into the area for major e Commonweal for major events like the Commonwealth Games.
"But as we saw at the Athens Olympics in 2004, the prostitutes do not leave the area.
"This is something the Olympic committee in London are very alert to."
She added: "There's nothing new in Scottish men using prostitutes for sex but they are now looking for foreign women as a result of trips abroad.
"The internet also provides easy opportunities. Even if you live in Auchtermuchty, you're only a few clicks away from getting what you want."
The baroness said the Scottish government and police had to act quickly to stop the traffickers. She said: "The authorities must take immediate action.
"I first encountered this problem in London 25 years ago when the Yardie gangsters teamed up with local criminals. The criminals in London, who were mainly into armed robbery, realised robbing banks was no longer viable and money was to be made from drugs.
"But they needed to link up with criminals from abroad who could get the drugs - that's where the Yardies came in.
"The drugs started to flood into the UK and with that came a big increase in the use of guns - then the girls followed.
"The same thing will happen in Scotland and we already know that gangs from Eastern Europe have joined forces with domestic criminals."
Latest figures show Scotland had 134 victims of human trafficking from April 2009 to December 2010. It is estimated Scotland will have around 75 victims of trafficking a year.
Five countries - Nigeria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, China and Somalia - accounted for 65 per cent of Scotland's trafficked women.
One gang were earning around £2million a year running 10 brothels.