THREE people from Gravesend have been convicted for their part in forcing a trafficked Slovak woman into a sham marriage.

The 26-year-old was brought to England and suffered weeks of sexual abuse after being sold to a Pakistani man for £4,500.

Tibor Suchy, 28, Viktoria Sanova, 27, Rene Sana, 30 and Muhammed Badar Ul Islam, 32, face sentencing for their roles in the trafficking after being found guilty on December 13.  

The victim had been approached while homeless in Slovakia by two men who asked if she would marry an Indian man in exchange for a better life.

Another man then drove the victim through Europe, before arriving at Dover by ferry from Dunkirk on February 26.

She was kept for three weeks at an address in Abbey Road in Gravesend and introduced to married couple Suchy and Sanova. 

The booking reference for the ferry crossing was traced by detectives back to Suchy.

The couple later sold her to Badar Ul Islam, who bought her in order to legitimise his stay in the UK after his student visa expired in January this year.

On March 13, Suchy drove the victim to Badar Ul Islam in Stratford, where he paid for her in cash and the defendants were spotted on CCTV walking to the bank to withdraw money. 

The woman was forced to stay with him for six days and was raped repeatedly.

On March 18, the victim suffered an injury as a result of the rape which required surgery. She remained in hospital for four days and hospital staff became concerned for her well being and contacted police.
 


Badar Ul Islam was arrested on March 24 as he was attempting to board a plane to Pakistan from Heathrow Airport.

Detectives from the Met's Human Trafficking Unit took the victim on a drive round of Gravesend and she was able to successfully identify the Abbey Road address where she was held, leading to the arrest of Suchy, Sana and Sanova on May 1.



Officers recovered a number of Slovak passports hidden in the hollow of a hi-fi speaker, photocopies of Slovak ID cards and travel invoices for Slovak female nationals were also found concealed in an outhouse. 

Badar Ul Islam, of Walthamstow, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to breach UK Immigration laws on October 21.



He was found not guilty of trafficking into the UK but was found guilty of rape and trafficking within the UK.

Sana, of Gravesend, was found not guilty of rape but guilty of conspiracy to breach UK Immigration laws.

Suchy, of Abbey Road in Gravesend, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to breach UK immigration laws on October 21.

He was found not guilty of attempred rape, but guilty of conspiracy to traffic to and within the UK for exploitation.

Sanova, 27, of Abbey Road, Gravesend  was found not guilty of the trafficking offences but guilty of conspiracy to breach UK immigration laws. 

Detective Constable McCormack, of the Human Trafficking Unit, said: "This has been a difficult and sensitive investigation into an horrific ordeal suffered by the victim.

"Human trafficking has a huge mental and physical effect on the victims and the affects can last many years.



"The Human Trafficking Unit remain determined to bring to justice those offenders who feel it is acceptable to trade in other human beings' lives.

"This investigation has involved investigations both here in the UK and in Slovakia and police will continue to target organised crime groups to stop this abhorrent crime."



All four will be sentenced on December 19 at Woolwich Crown Court.