Three people have been arrested in Kent as part of an investigation into modern slavery in the poultry industry by the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA).
Five warrants took place early on Thursday morning (November 2) in the Maidstone area by GLAA officers assisted by Kent Police.
Two men, aged 55 and 54 and a 55-year-old woman were arrested. They are now being held over the alleged enslavement of three Lithuanian men who worked in poultry factories in Kent.
The three men have now provide statements. They will also be assessed to establish if they are potential victims of trafficking or modern slavery.
Other agencies assisting on the operation included the Salvation Army, Maidstone Borough Council, the Women’s Institute and the National Health Service.
The GLAA is designed to address labour exploitation and abuse in the UK, in particularly in the food, agricultural and horticultural industries.
It was formed in 2005 to protect vulnerable workers in the wake of the Morecambe Bay disaster when 23 Chinese cockle pickers drowned on the sands
