SIX HELD OVER PEOPLE TRAFFICKING

BBC NEWS
/8497941.stm
2010/02/04 11:37:08 GMT

Six people have been arrested on suspicion of people trafficking
after a 15-year-old Armenian girl tried to enter the UK using a
Latvian passport.

Two Armenian men, aged 49 and 25, and two Latvian women, aged 33 and
26, were stopped in North Shields on Friday.

The UK Border Agency said they were headed for Manchester.

Two other Armenian men, aged 30 and 19, were later arrested on
suspicion of people trafficking. All six have been released on bail.

The girl has been taken into the care of the local authority.

Det Insp Graham Brown, of the North East Immigration Crime Team, said:
"The safety and wellbeing of the young girl is of paramount importance
to all the agencies involved in this investigation.

"Trafficking and facilitation are serious offences which often involve
young and vulnerable members from the international community."