Men who ‘ruined lives in order to bankroll their own’ must repay debt
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Two men have been ordered to repay more than £250,000 they made from running a number of brothels across the East Midlands.
Mo Quan Zhou and Meyrick Bramhill-Purchase and were jailed in May 2018 after an investigation by the East Midlands Special Operations Unit (EMSOU) found they had conspired to traffic women from Asia into nine brothels in Derbyshire and Lincolnshire.
A subsequent investigation under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, by a Financial Investigator at Derbyshire Constabulary, established that the pair had benefitted by £251,102.
On Friday 17 May 2019, at Derby Crown Court, they were each given Confiscation Orders as follows:
· Zhou, aged 46 and formerly of London Road in Derby, was found to have benefitted by £133,102 and must begin by paying £2,306 in available funds.
· Bramhill-Purchase, aged 65 and formally of Muntjac Way in Witham St Hughs, was found to have benefitted by £118,000 and must begin by paying £10,496 in available funds.
They have three months to do so, or face further time in jail.
The pair were convicted of conspiracy to facilitate the travel of another with a view to sexual exploitation, conspiracy to control prostitution for gain, and removing criminal property in relation to five brothels in Lincoln, two in Derby and two in Chesterfield in which a number of Chinese and Malaysian women were being trafficked around the country on a weekly basis.
Zhou was jailed for five-and-a-half years and Bramhill-Purchase was jailed for four-and-a-half years. They were also each given 10-year Slavery and Trafficking Prevention Orders (STPOs).
DI Rich Monk said: “Zhou and Bramhill-Purchase exploited tens of dozens of women over a six-year period – ruining lives in order to bankroll their own.
“Along with jail terms, and further monitoring through STPOs, this latest order ensures that they not only pay their debt to society with their freedom, but also with any proceeds they may have made from their crimes.”