Nine people have been arrested in raids on properties in northern England in a crackdown on people-trafficking and serious sexual offences.
More than 100 officers were involved in the simultaneous searches in Middlesbrough, Stockton and Sheffield. Officers arrested eight men in Stockton and one after a raid in the Callow Mount area of Sheffield.
The searches were carried out after a woman told police she had been subjected to sexual offences including rape.
The investigation was based on intelligence that an unknown number of young women had been trafficked in Cleveland over a number of months for the purposes of sex, a police spokeswoman said.
Police believe victims were raped by multiple men after being driven to residential addresses and were sometimes taken to other parts of the country to be further exploited.
The assistant chief constable of Cleveland police, Jason Harwin, said: “Human trafficking, the exploitation of the most vulnerable in our communities by the most ruthless, will not be accepted.
“Our message is clear, to those who are victims in the case: there is hope. We are on your side; we can and will help you. We are here for you and we are stronger and more determined than your abusers.”
Police were unable to say how many victims were thought to be involved or whether any were underage.
