Modern slavery at nail salons in Bath and Staffordshire

 

Modern slavery in beauty salons is once again under the spotlight as we learn that teenage girls were being forced to work in beauty salons in Bath and Staffordshire for little or no pay. Three members of a Vietnamese gang have been jailed after police discovered they were forcing Vietnamese teenager to work 60 hours per week without pay and in squalid conditions, transferring them to beauty salons across England. 

Thu Huong Nguyen (48), known as Jenny, was sentenced to five years in prison for conspiring to facilitate the movement of people for labour exploitation, keeping them in the loft of her home and in a small room in the salon, moving them between the two morning and night. Viet Hoang Nguyen (29), known as Ken, and Giang Houng Tran, known as Susan, were also sentenced for conspiracy to require others to perform forced or compulsory labour at Stafford Crown Court. Ken was jailed for four years and Susan was given a two-year suspended sentence.

 Police believe that there are more members of the gang, and that they are just scratching the surface of this. They believe that many cash-only nail bars are ran by gangs.

Crimestoppers and Babtac have launched campaigns to help clients to spot the signs of modern slavery.