Yorkshire curry house trio guilty of human trafficking

Brothers Shaan and Raza Khan and their mother Parveen Khan were found guilty of conspiracy to traffic persons into the UK for the purposes of exploitation. The verdicts came after nearly six hours of deliberation by the jury at Leeds Crown Court.

The brothers, who run the Rajput curry house in Cheltenham Parade, Harrogate, stood silently in the dock as the verdicts were handed down, while their mother, 55, sobbed quietly, with hands covering her face.

The court heard that the brothers, aged 33 and 30, conspired in a plot to bring innocent men into the country, strip them of their documents, and keep them prisoner in a bungalow on Green Lane, Harrogate.

The men, with no money or passports, feared for their lives and were rescued only after a police raid at the restaurant in 2008.

Prosecutor Christopher Tehrani said: "These nine complainants were all deceived. Each one was brought to the UK on the promise of good wages, good working conditions, accommodation, and medical treatment. The reality was very different."

He said they were forced to work long shifts as waiters or chefs at the popular curry house, sometimes 12 -14 hours a day, without rest breaks or food.

For their services they were paid little or nothing at all, he said, and were treated like "animals", kept prisoner in a cramped bungalow, and forbidden from talking to one another.

"These men came here to work, to send money back to their families, and to improve their position, " he said.

"They came here full of hope. The illusion was shattered very, very quickly, considering the treatment they received at the hands of the Khans."

Nicholas Lumley, defending Shaan Khan, said: "A devious criminal would hide what they were doing – but the Khans courted publicity.

"Is that the actions of a brazen slave trader? The exploiters of the innocent? Or the actions of a decent employer, trying to do things properly?"

Judge Geoffrey Marsden warned the Khans he was considering every sentence, including prison.

They have been granted bail and will be sentenced on Friday, May 21.