T hree weeks ago, police entered a brothel in south-east England after receiving intelligence about criminal activity there. Inside, they found eight Romanian women wearing face shields and masks, and laminated Covid health and safety sheets on the wall. An industrial-size bottle of hand sanitiser stood by the front door. Instead, the police investigation found that the brothel and the women inside were under the control of a criminal gang, which was also running at least three other premises where Romanian women were being exploited. According to UK modern slavery statistics, the number of sex trafficking victims being identified fell sharply in the first few months of lockdown.