A man and woman have been jailed for a total of 10 years and nine months for running an extensive trafficking operation for the purposes of sexual exploitation.

Mananchaya Wanitthanawet, 40, and Cameron Wilson, 30, both of Yeovil, Somerset, carried out their crimes in various areas including Dundee, Aberdeen, Inverness and Edinburgh between July 2019 and July 2022. 

They were sentenced at the High Court in Edinburgh on 8 November 2024 for sex trafficking and Proceeds of Crime offences following an earlier five-day trial. 

Wanitthanawet was imprisoned for nine years while Wilson, described as her former partner, will spend 21 months in custody. 

Wanitthanawet was found guilty of recruiting, transporting and harbouring the women, featuring them in adverts for sexual services and forcing them into prostitution. 

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Her offending took place at addresses in Dundee, Aberdeen, Inverness, Edinburgh, Newcastle and elsewhere. 

Each charge was aggravated by a connection to serious crime while two were aggravated by connections to trafficking. 

Wanitthanawet was also made subject of a Trafficking and Exploitation Prevention Order which will last for five years upon her release from custody.

Wilson was convicted of living off the earnings of prostitution, aggravated by a connection to serious crime.  

Both were convicted of laundering £136,880 that they had earned from their criminal enterprises.  

Moira Orr, who leads on major crime for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), said: “Mananchaya Wanitthanawet and Cameron Wilson exploited vulnerable women for their own financial benefit without any regard to the suffering they caused.  

“These two women were trafficked into Scotland to be used as prostitutes and moved around various properties.  

“These are truly despicable crimes, and I wish to commend the victims for their courage in speaking out and ensuring these two individuals were brought to justice.  

“Human trafficking has no place in Scotland.  

“COPFS prosecutors will use every tool at their disposal to secure justice in all such cases – and I would encourage any victim or witness of a similar offending to report it and seek support.  

“We will continue target criminals who abuse, control and exploit vulnerable people, working with partners nationally and internationally to bring offenders to justice, and to raise public awareness to help identify victims and ensure they get the support they need.” 

The court heard how Wanitthanawet arranged for the two victims, aged 28 and 25, to be brought to Scotland from her native Thailand with the promise that they would be working in massage parlours. 

They were also told they would earn no less than about £2,500 a month and could study “to improve themselves”. 

On arrival, however, Wanitthanawet told them they would be expected to have sex with men to pay off fictitious debts of £90,000. 

The court was told she then took pictures of the women and advertised them as sex workers on prostitution websites. 

Initially, one woman was expected to work seven days a week and be available for clients between 9am and midnight. In evidence, she said she was expected to entertain between seven and 15 clients a day, some of whom were sadistic and violent. 

The court was also told that Wilson and Wanitthanawet collected cash that the women earned, which was paid into bank accounts in his name.

The victims, who spoke no English, gave harrowing evidence through pre-recorded interviews as they recounted their ordeals at properties in Dundee and across Scotland which were a front for brothels.  

Wanitthanawet and Wilson will now face confiscation action under Proceeds of Crime legislation to recover money illegally made from criminal conduct.