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Brothel owners transported women around suburbs in a cage for their £1m business
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 6:43 PM on 12th May 2010
A couple who made more than £1million in six months by running four brothels around London are facing jail.
Former police informer Michael Dalton and his partner, Nikki Chen, trafficked women from China to work in the brothels in Sunbury, Egham, West Drayton and Surbiton.
Police believe that a VW van, fitted with a cage, was used to ferry the girls between the brothels.
Michael Dalton and Nikki Chen were convicted of controlling prostitution for gain after running four brothels in London
The pair, from Leatherhead, face lengthy jail sentences after they were convicted of controlling prostitution for gain at Croydon Crown Court.
Detectives arrested Dalton, 44, and Chen, 56, and rescued seven women in a series of raids last July.
Several others involved in the sex empire were also held.
During a long undercover operation, police looked on as at least a dozen customers visited each of the brothels every day.
The minimum payment for services from prostitutes working in the premises was £60, ranging up to £120 per hour.
The women were forced to work to pay off debts they owed the couple and told their families they would be at risk if they tried to escape.
The couple owned properties in Gloucestershire and Surrey, and had two Mercedes convertibles and a Lamborghini sports car.
Police believe that this VW van, fitted with a cage, was used to ferry the girls between the brothels
Scotland Yard's Det Insp Kevin Hyland said men who use prostitutes must realise that they are fuelling human misery.
He said: 'In April we arrested three men for purchasing sex from exploited women. We only have to prove there is exploitation, not just trafficking, but women who are controlled or subjected to degrading behaviour.
'It needs to be put out there to people that they have to understand this is exploitation of people in the worst way. Lives are ruined just because people want to use what is seen as just a brothel selling prostitution. They do not see the horror story behind it.'
Two Mercedes cars owed by Michael Dalton and Nikki Chen, who also had a Lamborghini
Mr Hyland also said Scotland Yard is targeting more criminals who smuggle women in to Britain's underground sex trade than ever before, while a reorganisation of the force's vice and trafficking units has led to a flood of fresh information.
Mr Hyland said: 'We have got more operations running now than there has ever been before in the Met.
'We are able to identify more victims, we have got a focal point for them to report to.
'There are more people investigating trafficking than there were under the old system.
'We have got more staff investigating trafficking than there has ever been before.'
The pair are due to be sentenced next month.
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 6:43 PM on 12th May 2010
A couple who made more than £1million in six months by running four brothels around London are facing jail.
Former police informer Michael Dalton and his partner, Nikki Chen, trafficked women from China to work in the brothels in Sunbury, Egham, West Drayton and Surbiton.
Police believe that a VW van, fitted with a cage, was used to ferry the girls between the brothels.
Michael Dalton and Nikki Chen were convicted of controlling prostitution for gain after running four brothels in London
The pair, from Leatherhead, face lengthy jail sentences after they were convicted of controlling prostitution for gain at Croydon Crown Court.
Detectives arrested Dalton, 44, and Chen, 56, and rescued seven women in a series of raids last July.
Several others involved in the sex empire were also held.
During a long undercover operation, police looked on as at least a dozen customers visited each of the brothels every day.
The minimum payment for services from prostitutes working in the premises was £60, ranging up to £120 per hour.
The women were forced to work to pay off debts they owed the couple and told their families they would be at risk if they tried to escape.
The couple owned properties in Gloucestershire and Surrey, and had two Mercedes convertibles and a Lamborghini sports car.
Police believe that this VW van, fitted with a cage, was used to ferry the girls between the brothels
Scotland Yard's Det Insp Kevin Hyland said men who use prostitutes must realise that they are fuelling human misery.
He said: 'In April we arrested three men for purchasing sex from exploited women. We only have to prove there is exploitation, not just trafficking, but women who are controlled or subjected to degrading behaviour.
'It needs to be put out there to people that they have to understand this is exploitation of people in the worst way. Lives are ruined just because people want to use what is seen as just a brothel selling prostitution. They do not see the horror story behind it.'
Two Mercedes cars owed by Michael Dalton and Nikki Chen, who also had a Lamborghini
Mr Hyland also said Scotland Yard is targeting more criminals who smuggle women in to Britain's underground sex trade than ever before, while a reorganisation of the force's vice and trafficking units has led to a flood of fresh information.
Mr Hyland said: 'We have got more operations running now than there has ever been before in the Met.
'We are able to identify more victims, we have got a focal point for them to report to.
'There are more people investigating trafficking than there were under the old system.
'We have got more staff investigating trafficking than there has ever been before.'
The pair are due to be sentenced next month.
