Jailed sex traffickers lived on Isle of Dogs

FOUR PEOPLE have been sentenced to a total of 23 years in prison for their parts in running a criminal network which trafficked 24 Thai women. The convictions came after a detailed investigation by the Metropolitan Police Slavery and Child Exploitation Team.

The investigation began in 2025 after Metropolitan Police officers who were investigating a different matter conducted welfare checks at a number of brothels. They spoke to a number of Thai women who told them that their passports had been taken by a woman they called “Freya” or “Freya Ice Queen”. As the investigation continued, police identified a network of people who, they suspected, controlled 26 brothels in London and Kent.

Police established that the team organised for Thai women to travel to the UK, usually on a visitor visa. Once they were in the UK, the gang took away their passports and told the women they had to work to repay debts. The women were taken to brothels in London and Kent which the gang controlled and, without their passports, they had no way of leaving. The men who used the women in the brothels appear not to have questioned whether the women were working voluntarily in the brothels or had been coerced.

Towards the end of their investigation, police officers obtained warrants to search seven locations. They seized £57,145 in cash and various other valuables. Arrests were made and four people were charged. Two of them lived in Saint David’s Square on the Isle of Dogs, E14.

Chin Ping (left) and Achareeya Spurr (right)

Achareeya Spurr, 49, of Saint David’s Square, E14, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit human trafficking, conspiracy to control prostitution for gain and acquiring, using or possessing criminal property.

After a seven week trial, Chin Ping, 56, of Saint David’s Square, E14 was found guilty of conspiracy to commit human trafficking, conspiracy to control prostitution for gain, acquiring, using or possessing criminal property, and facilitating a breach of UK immigration law by a non-UK national.

Ugur Sahin (left) and Sarunyoo Siriwan (right)

The two others convicted of the same charges as Chin Pint were:
Ugur Sahin, 27, of Victoria Road, NW4;
and Sarunyoo Siriwan, 31, of Seagar Place, SE8.

Last Friday, the four appeared at Woolwich Crown Court, where they were sentenced to:
•Achareeya Spurr: seven years and eight months
•Chin Ping: six years and nine months
•Sarunyoo Siriwan: four years and four months
•Ugur Sahin: four years

All four were served with Slavery and Trafficking Prevention Orders. The prison sentences do seem rather light given the gravity of the crimes committed against 24 women.

Detective Constable Kathryn Horne, from the Met’s Modern Slavery and Child Exploitation Team, praised the victims’ courage in coming forward: “This was a sophisticated criminal enterprise that targeted women for financial gain, treating them as commodities to be bought, controlled and exploited,” she said. “The defendants profited from the suffering of women who had travelled thousands of miles to the UK, only to find themselves trapped in a cycle of debt, control and sexual exploitation.”

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