Two Kingsbury brothel maids who were part of an organised crime gang exploiting women have been jailed.

Maria Jose Carvalho, 43, of Church Lane, was jailed for three years for Controlling prostitution for gain, possession Class A drugs and possessing criminal property.

Anna Paula De Almeida Prudente, 21, of Princess Avenue was sentence to one year and two months for controlling prostitution for gain and possessing criminal property.

The pair, who both pleaded guilty, were part of an Organised Crime Group (OCG) who made millions through the exploitation of women in a number of brothels in north London including Cricklewood Broadway,Cricklewood Lane, and Aldershot Road in Kilburn.

Harrow Crown Court heard the OCG operated a sophisticated network of brothels through which they sold drugs and controlled prostitutes, generating in excess of £1 million a year.

Nine defendants were all sentenced at the same court on October 24.

The OCG armed their security with a variety of weapons including Tasers, pepper spray, cattle prods and baseball bats to protect their enterprise. The guards also oversaw the sale of alcohol and drugs from each of the venues.

Throughout the course of the investigation one female victim came forward and told police she was forced to work in the brothels over the course of two months.

Her movements were monitored by CCTV and the OCG threatened to have her family in Brazil killed if she tried to leave. In April 2017 she escaped and sought help from police.

On May 23 2018 police raided brothels in Cricklewood Broadway and Kenton Court.

Ringleaders Renato Sacchi, Raul Sacchi, and Flavia Sacchi were jailed for more than 25 years between them.

Det Insp Dan Mitchell from Central Specialist Crime said it was a "lengthy and complex investigation" adding:

"Individuals often are reticent or too afraid to come forward in modern slavery investigations, so it is our job to build a prosecution and dismantle OCGs like this with whatever evidence we can.

"Detectives spent months using a range of tactics to build a case against this group of criminals, taking an evidence-led approach, to ensure they were convicted and brought to justice.

"Anyone considering exploiting other human beings for financial gain should expect to face the same level of expert investigation and prosecution.