Modern slavery in salons back in the spotlight as new arrests are made

The ongoing problem of modern slavery in nail salons has been highlighted once again following the sentencing of three members of a Vietnamese trafficking gang in Bath, who have been jailed for a total of nine years.

Police discovered they were forcing teenagers, who were also Vietnamese, to work 60 hours per week without pay and in squalid conditions, transferring them to beauty salons across England.

Thu Huong Nguyen, who managed Nail Bar Deluxe in Bath city centre, was sentenced to five years in prison. Accomplices Viet Hoang Nguyen and Giang Houong Tran were also sentenced.

Detective Inspector Charlotte Tucker, who led the operation for Avon and Somerset Police, said: “We hope this case acts as a stark reminder of how modern slavery victims are working and living in plain sight.”

PB reader Claire Treacher, owner of Claire Formby Salon, commented: “Our industry should use this as a major wake up call. The public should be made more aware of these salons and educated to question how it can be so cheap to get their nails done.”

It has since emerged that the new owners of the Bath salon, Tuyen Quoc Pham and Thi Thug Vu, are being wrongfully targeted with racist abuse by passers-by, despite having no connection to the former owners and having renamed the salon Luxury Nails and Beauty, highlighting a need for increased clarity and education on trafficking.