Firm raided in 'slave' hunt
Officers searched the premises of a Market Harborough company as raids were carried out on 21 homes in nearby Kettering and across the Midlands.
Police and other agency staff also raided a farm near Holbeach, in south Lincolnshire, where 60 men and women from Eastern Europe were picking leeks.
They were taken to Kettering, where they are being treated as potential witnesses and victims.
Seven men and one woman have been arrested on suspicion of people trafficking for the purposes of labour exploitation and money laundering.
They are now in custody at Kettering and Wellingborough police stations.
More than 200 officers took part in Operation Ruby, which centred on allegations people were recruited through advertisements and agencies in Eastern Europe and travelled to the UK on the promise of work.
Police believe that once in this country, their documents were taken from them and much of the wages they earned was withheld to pay for their housing and transport costs.
Detective Superintendent Glyn Timmins said the raids were the culmination of months of liaison, investigation and planning involving many agencies, into "what we believe is an organised crime group that has exploited people as cheap labour in fields across this region".
A spokesman for Northamptonshire police would not reveal the identity of the business that was searched in Market Harborough.
Search warrants involving Northamptonshire police, Kettering Borough Council and Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service were carried out at premises in Kettering where investigators believe the migrant workers were living in conditions that were overcrowded and potentially unsafe.
Paul Whitehouse, chairman of regulatory body the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA), said: "The action taken shows no gangmaster can get away with this abuse.
"The GLA and other agencies are watching and will deal with the unscrupulous individuals who use their control over their workers to cause misery."
UK Border Agency regional deputy director Simon Excell said: "Human trafficking, whether for sexual or labour exploitation, is an appalling crime where people are treated as commodities and traded for profit.
"It is a modern form of slavery.
"We are also taking tough action against employers who hire illegal migrants – by naming and shaming them, prosecuting, imposing heavy fines and imprisoning them when appropriate.
"Thanks to the new points-based immigration system, employers now have to apply for carefully-policed licences to hire migrants."
Luke Hodson, of Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: "The operation could be one of the most valuable life-saving pieces of work we carry out between now and Christmas.
"This has been a huge undertaking for us.
"None of the agencies would have been able to take this action independently."
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