More Arrests Over Child Sex Trafficking In Stockport

3 August 2011, 12:24 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50

2 more men have been arrested by police in Manchester investigating child sex trafficking in Stockport.

A 25-year-old man from the Longsight area and a 24-year-old man from Tameside were both taken into custody earlier.

Both have been arrested on suspicion of trafficking within the UK for the purposes of sexual exploitation.

The arrests are the result of an ongoing inquiry into the sexual exploitation of a number of teenage girls from Stockport and follow an operation carried out on Tuesday 14 June 2011, which resulted in 15 arrests. All 15 men have been released on bail until September 2011 pending further inquiries.

Focusing chiefly on child sexual exploitation, this investigation has involved around 100 detectives and is one of the largest ever carried out by the Serious Crime Division.

Detective Chief Inspector Pete Marsh said:

'The additional arrests we have made today show that our investigation into the issue of sexual exploitation is very much ongoing and is something that we take extremely seriously.

'Sadly, sexually exploited children exist across the UK, in all communities and in all kinds of homes, regardless of ethnicity. However, I want to reassure the people of Greater Manchester that we have a number of operations currently running to target this kind of criminal behaviour and that this issue is a top priority for GMP.

'We will continue to dedicate a significant amount of officers to this investigation and work closely with local authorities, and other organisations such as Barnardo's, to address the specific issue of adults befriending and grooming younger people for sex.

'We are also looking into whether there could possibly be more victims in this case. If anyone thinks they may have been sexually exploited, please get in touch with the police and we will support you and investigate your report thoroughly.