A couple who brought sex workers over to the UK for their brothel business have been sentenced to prison.
Fabiani Alvez De Souza, 42, and her husband Gareth Derby, 53, were found guilty of several offences after being identified as a part of a large police investigation set up to support and protect vulnerable individuals in the sex trade.
According to Yorkshire Live, the pair were brought to justice by North Yorkshire Police's "Operation Oasis", which began looking into the couple in 2017 and spoke with five sex workers on Bower Road in Harrogate.
On a third visit to the premise on December 17, officers said it "became clear that a brothel was being operated from the flat and that another woman was facilitating the travel of the women working at the premise to the UK and that she was involved in the management of their activities."
De Souza rented the flat and then created, posted and even paid for adverts on an adult website under "Escorts and Massages" alongside part of a Harrogate postcode.
At the same time, she also paid for similar adverts in the South Wooton/PE30 area which related to another rented address on Nelson Street in Kings Lynn.
Investigators also found the De Souza and Derby were paying for flights from Lisbon, Amsterdam and Brussels to the UK and train and road travel from airports across the country to the flat in Harrogate, and another rented flat in Kings Lynn, Norfolk.
Police said that in September 2017, the pair travelled to Manchester Airport to collect a woman who had travelled from Amsterdam. They then drove her to the flat in Harrogate and the next day an advert was posted to an adult website and the couple returned to Kings Lynn.
When officers visited the Harrogate flat, they were able to establish that a woman they spoke to was the same woman who had been collected from Manchester Airport.
The investigation showed the De Souza was controlling her activities and that between October 25 and 30, two more cash deposits of £500 and £600 were made into her bank account in Harrogate.
Financial records showed that De Souza then paid £70.98 for an EasyJet flight for the same woman who flew from London Stansted to Amsterdam on October 29.
A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said: "Following this, three cash deposits were made in Harrogate to De Souza's bank account in varying amounts from £163 to over £1,000.
"Neither De Souza or Derby were in Harrogate when these deposits were made."
Officers from both North Yorkshire Police and Norfolk Constabulary visited the couple's home in Walpole St Andrew, Kings Lynn, and spoke to a woman they had previously seen at the flat in Harrogate.
Another woman who was involved in prostitution was found at the address and De Souza was arrested.
Derby was later arrested and a financial examination showed the couple had spent thousands of pounds setting up the business, but had received cash deposits of more than £40,000 during a six-month period.
They were both found guilty at a trial at Leeds Crown Court of a number of offences including controlling prostitution for gain and offences.
A jury heard De Souza and Derby had exploited seven women between the ages of 26 and 60 from Brazil, Portugal and Spain and they were jailed for five years.
They were also made the subject of slavery and trafficking orders that will last for 10 years after their release from prison.
Detective Constable Leah Kitchen from North Yorkshire Police's Organised Crime Unit said: "De Souza claimed throughout the investigation that she was just helping friends of hers who were working as prostitutes, while Derby repeatedly told the police that he was unaware of what was going on.
"The truth of the matter is that they, together, were operating an illegal business involving human trafficking and controlling prostitution for gain.
"This is an important case as it is a victimless prosecution for a human trafficking and controlling prostitution investigation, which is unusual and more difficult to progress to court.
"I'm very proud that North Yorkshire Police, with assistance from Norfolk Constabulary, have rooted out this activity and brought the offenders to justice."
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