New research published yesterday suggests that people trafficking is occurring around Scotland and there are fears the Borders will not escape the attentions of those behind this nefarious trade.

The 'Scotland's Slaves' briefing paper, launched by Amnesty International, brings information from the police, local authorities, support services and voluntary organisations for the first time, and presents the most comprehensive picure to date of the extent of people trafficking in Scotland. It was launched by Amnesty International UK Director Kate Allen at an event in the Scottish Parliament, as part of the 2008 Festival of Politics.

It reports how, during Operation Pentameter 2, Scottish police forces raided more than 50 premises, resulting in 59 people being dealt with as victims of trafficking and 35 suspects arrested; that the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) estimate that Scotland has 13.5 per cent of the UK's trade in human beings (despite having less than 10 per cent of the population); that cases of trafficking have been found in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dumfries and Galloway, Falkirk, Grangemouth, Stirling and Tayside; that victims from Lithuania, Slovakia, Nigeria, China, Estonia, Somalia, Thailand, Guinea and Russia have been found in Scotland.

And while most attention has been given to the plight of women trafficked into the sex trade, there is also evidence of trafficking into Scotland for domestic and agricultural labour.

Amnesty spokesperson Naomi McAuliffe told TheSouthern: "There is evidence that the port of Stranraer has been used as a route into Scotland for people being trafficked and these victims could easily have then been moved on through areas like the Borders to big cities.

"Also, we are concerned that in the main rural areas of Scotland, and that includes the Borders, that such people are being used as forced labour.

"It is something we need to raise public awareness of and people need to know what to look for when it comes to spotting trafficking victims."

Launching the report, Kate Allen said there are different methods of trafficking and different routes into Scotland. "We have come across an example of marriage being used as a mechanism of trafficking women into Scotland for sexual exploitation.