Over a period of six months, I uncovered up to 15 houses in and around Mayfair, learning how they operate. All were some of the most exclusive addresses in the country, some even belonging to the property portfolio of the Anglican church, the London diocese fund.
The Church of England says it had no knowledge of this activity and that the premises had been managed by an independent letting agent and is now empty. In one of the houses, up to ten women sat in front of me and claimed to be Colombian, Italian, Portuguese when it was clear that they were mostly Romanian.
Each house was rented online for a short time and rotated regularly to evade law enforcement and detection. Beggars and vendors act as the eyes and ears, tipping them off if there are too many people sniffing about. And so as the punters come out of the bars and night clubs the drivers pounce on the tipsy ones who looked like big spenders. The voice of the woman in this clip has been changed to protect her identity.
The drivers pick up the clients and take them to the house where they are faced with a selection of women and plied with more drink and drugs. The voices of the women in this clip have been changed to protect their identities. Pliable punters are drained of money; credit cards are taken, not just cash. The threat of exposure to bosses or loved ones later means the gangsters can continue to milk them long after their visit.
They have a daily targets to meet the targets set by the Albanian gangs. They are mostly from Eastern Europe, from some of the poorest parts of the former soviet bloc countries.
