7 Arrested in London after Bulgarian Tipoff

The British police have arrested seven people for participating in an organized crime group dealing with human trafficking.

The investigation has started in Bulgaria, the Interior Ministry press center informs Sunday.

The police operation has taken place on November 15 in London. The probe, conducted jointly with Bulgaria's Main Directorate for Combatting Organized Crime, GDBOP, has established that in addition to sexual exploitation, the gang forced their victims to marry people from outside the EU so that they can travel freely within EU countries.

The investigation has started when a Bulgarian woman, 43, informed GDBOP that her daughter, 25, has been paid to marry someone from outside the EU, and after that she has not been allowed to return to Bulgaria.

Bulgarian police immediately contacted British counterparts and the joint operation led them to the address where the young woman has been forcefully kept. The search found two other girls in a similar situation. The National Committee for Combatting Human Trafficking at the Bulgarian government has secured their safe return home.

The raid of the home of one of the detainees resulted in the seizing of false IDs, copies of ID cards and birth certificates of Bulgarian female nationals.

All of the arrested are foreigners in the UK. The investigation continues.