Modern slavery alert for Wiltshire airfields

Wiltshire airfields are the focus of the police's latest Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking operation.

Operation Aidant, which runs until Sunday 3 December, is a nationwide operation that will involve gathering information and educating people as well as enforcement activity to tackle Organised Criminal Gangs (OCGs) which use the Common Travel Area, also known as the CTA, such as airfields and ports, to carry out their crimes.

Wiltshire has a total of 61 airfields which fall under the CTA, and currently there is no intelligence to suggest that there are criminal gangs using these airfields to traffick modern slavery victims or to carry out other crimes.  

However, the force says it needs the aviation community – those who use the airfields for legitimate business and/or leisure - to be aware and look out for the signs of any criminal activity.

Det Insp Mark Kent said:  “As a landlocked county Wiltshire has no ports which would enable criminals to exploit and smuggle modern slavery victims but we have many small airfields.  

"Facilities used regularly by people for legitimate reasons and travel.

“Our intelligence shows that there is little criminal activity at these airfields in our county – I can assure you it doesn’t appear to be a major issue here in Wiltshire.  However, we mustn’t be complacent and so are asking the public who use these airfields to keep a look out for anything out of the ordinary or unusual.  

"This could be anything like a pilot acting suspiciously, an aircraft which has been modified or a concealed cargo being carried.

“We would like members of the aviation community to be vigilant and report to us anything that doesn’t seem right.”

Wiltshire Police is working with the Border Force and its Project Pegasus operation to combat smuggling, immigration crime and terrorism.  

To report anything suspicious, people should call 0300 123 7000, quoting Pegasus, or report online via wiltshire.police.co.uk.  In an emergency people should always call 999.