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Six members of a brothel gang, that made about £2m in less than 17 months have been jailed.

Scores of young women were recruited in Malaysia and smuggled into the UK posing as tourists.

Southwark Crown Court was told at least one was tricked into leaving her family after being offered an all expenses paid sightseeing trip.

The six men from London, Birmingham and Hertfordshire, were sentenced to up to five years each.

The gang had operated three luxurious brothels in London and Birmingham since 2004 and the court heard the women were expected to service about 70 men a week.

Brendan Kelly, prosecuting, said with clients being charged a minimum £70 for just 30 minutes, the operation was an "obvious money spinner".

Officers who later studied so-called "worksheets" from the three premises later calculated the gang had "grossed over £2m in just 17 months".

Among those in the dock was "ruthless mastermind" Thanh Hue Thi, from Golders Green, north-west London.

The 43-year-old was jailed for five years after admitting conspiracy to traffic women into the United Kingdom for gain and controlling prostitution.

Serious exploitation

Judge Geoffrey Rivlin QC said, in passing sentence: "This was big business and very large sums were involved. It undoubtedly involved the importation of girls into this country for the purposes of prostitution."

Furthermore, while there was evidence of "coercion" in only a few cases, all the women that worked for them were clearly under "very strict instructions" and rigidly schooled in the way they should behave towards clients.

"All of this resulted in their serious exploitation."

He said urgent inquiries should be made into brothel boss Thi's status in this country, adding if he was here illegally he should be deported to Malaysia upon his release.

All admitted controlling prostitution and, apart from Low and Loh, were recommended for deportation.

bbc.co.uk