It is understood that the 60 or so exhausted victims – who had been living in cramped and overcrowded homes in Kettering – may now be relocated to Kent, where they will be found new homes and humane work.

The revelations follow a dramatic rescue operation yesterday where the workers, mainly men from Eastern Europe, were reportedly relieved and pleased to see police swoop on the Lincolnshire farm where they had been shipped to and from every day by minibus.


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Specialist officers are treating them as victims of human trafficking and are continuing to interview them to discover how they came to this country and became virtual prisoners.

They are now being supported by staff from the Serious and Organised Crime Agency's (SOCA) Vulnerable Persons Team. A UK Border Agency spokesman said: "The migrant workers are now being treated as victims of trafficking and will be initially provided with secure accommodation.

"They will have access to the appropriate support networks to be able to provide them with long term accommodation and opportunities for work."

The operation to rescue the workers – codenamed Operation Ruby – took six months to co-ordinate, involved more than 200 staff members from nine organisations and is believed to have been the biggest of its kind in the UK.

It is understood some had been working gruelling 14-16 hour days for minimal pay. It may have been that their passports had been confiscated by their employers.

The Gangmasters Licensing Authority said there was not necessarily one specific reason why Kettering was where the migrants had been taken to live, though it may be because it is accessible to rural locations.

A SOCA spokesman added: "I don't think there is a formula as to why this happens in specific places.

"It could be that a place has good access to rural areas or it could be a place where the criminals involved reside themselves."

Following yesterday's operation a 10-point plan to tackle slavery has been published. Wellingborough and Rushden MP Peter Bone says the 10 steps, such as tightening border controls and focusing on protecting child victims, need to be taken to tackle human trafficking.

Nine people, two of them women, aged between 22 and 50, were arrested on suspicion of human trafficking and money laundering. One was released without charge while the other eight have been released on bail pending further inquiries.