Bath nail bar owner jailed for exploiting teenage workers

Three people have been sentenced for human trafficking and labour exploitation offences. It is after an investigation into working conditions in nail bars across the country.

It is believed to be the first successful prosecution in the UK for exploitation and enforced child labour under the 2015 Modern Slavery Act.

Officers from Avon and Somerset Police and Staffordshire Police unravelled the human trafficking operation which saw young Vietnamese teenagers forced to work without wages.

Two modern slaves, teenage Vietnamese girls were found to be working 60 hours a week, living in cramped conditions and were physically and verbally abused.

Thu Huong Nguyen, known as Jenny, who is from Bath, was found guilty of conspiring to arrange or facilitate the movement of people for labour exploitation and conspiring to require others to perform forced or compulsory labour following a trial. She was jailed for five years.

In court, the judge called the defendants “devious and manipulative” and said they treated the victims as commodities and exploited them for “pure economic greed”.

The trafficking investigation involved five police forces and the National Crime Agency and began after Avon and Somerset officers visited Nail Deluxe in Westgate Street, Bath, in February 2016, a premises run by Jenny Nguyen.

A search of Jenny’s home in Southdown Road resulted in £60,000 in cash being found concealed inside a stuffed toy.

The nail bar has now been rebranded, with a new name and new owners not connected to today's proceedings.

Detectives said the investigation had been extremely challenging and was thought to be the first child labour exploitation case and first Vietnamese nail bar trafficking and slavery case in the UK.

If you think you or someone you know is a victim of human trafficking or slavery call the Modern Slavery Helpline on 08000 121 700.