LONDONApril 20: British police say they have arrested 15 people suspected of trafficking women from Thailand and forcing them to work as prostitutes in London.

Police say the raid early on Sunday targeted a ring that was using an Internet escort agency as a front.

Police say they raided 26 addresses in central London and one in suburban Surrey.

Thirty women have been taken to a victims’ support centre as police try to establish the nature of their relationship with the gang.

Police say the gang demanded the women pay them 28,000 pounds (euro35,000; $55,000) before they could be freed. That amount is called “debt bondage” and is what the women owe the gang for smuggling them into the country and giving them a place to stay.—AP