Operation Netwing
Operation Netwing is a UK police investigation led by the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit (BHMCU) into allegations of forced labour and human trafficking linked to Irish Travellers in Bedfordshire. BHMCU is a combined major crime team formed by officers from Bedfordshire Police and Hertfordshire Constabulary to handle serious crimes.
The inquiry began in April 2011 after a man told police he had been “enslaved, frequently beaten and threatened with more violence” after being offered work outside a job centre. The focus was Greenacres Caravan Park, a Traveller site near Little Billington, Bedfordshire. Investigators spent months undercover and gathered intelligence with help from the Serious Organised Crime Agency’s Human Trafficking Centre. They concluded the site was the hub of a multi‑million‑pound trafficking operation that stretched beyond the UK, with some men moved to Europe to work.
In 2011, police across four other English counties carried out related raids on Traveller sites as part of the crackdown on forced labour and trafficking. On the morning of 11 September 2011, about 100 officers from BHMCU and other specialist units raided Greenacres to execute warrants. Four men and one woman were arrested, and 24 men at the site were freed, believed to be victims. The arrests were made under a 2009 law designed to criminalize slavery or forced labour. The youngest of the freed men was 17; several of the victims were homeless or struggling with alcohol. Some were treated in hospital, while others declined to help police. Drugs, money and weapons were also found at the site. A Red Cross rest centre helped the men with shelter, clothing and support.
Over the following days, charges were brought. On 12 September 2011, four Connors men and a James Connors were charged with conspiracy to hold people in servitude and to force them to labour, and were remanded in custody. A pregnant woman, Josie Connors, was also charged with related offences and remanded on bail. Police described the operation as targeting a family‑run “business” that exploited the men for financial gain.
More arrests followed on 21 September 2011, including Johnny Connors, who faced multiple charges. Tommy Connors (senior) was charged in October with additional offences. In December 2011, seven people appeared at Luton Crown Court on multiple counts of conspiracy to hold people in servitude and to force them to labour. In July 2012, several Connors family members were convicted of controlling and exploiting the men at the caravan site.
The case drew praise from MPs and highlighted concerns about trafficking, including domestic trafficking within the UK. It also reflected the work of the authorities as they prepared for the National Crime Agency’s expanded role in coordinating anti‑trafficking efforts.
The Netwing investigation sits within a broader 2011 pattern of policing Traveller sites. Earlier operations began after the decomposed body of Christopher Nicholls was found in 2008, with raids in 2011 at Enderby and Pleasley uncovering alleged slaves, and other actions at Hamble and Pulmer Water involving possible trafficking. The case contributed to ongoing debates about the language used to describe such exploitation and the need for strong law enforcement powers to confront modern slavery.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 03:04 (CET).