SEX trafficking is one of Oxford’s back-street problems, a charity said last night.

The warning comes as two men yesterday began a combined 12 years in jail for illegally controlling prostitutes in the city.

Oxford Community Against Trafficking (Oxcat) said the case “opened people’s eyes” to the issue which, it said, has not been erased by yesterday’s sentences.

Anastassios Papas and Graham Cochrane ran the Fun Girls in Oxford escort agency, offering mainly eastern European women for sex in hotels and clients’ homes.

Cochrane, 49, of Corncrake Way, Bicester, was convicted by jurors at Oxford Crown Court in November of one charge of conspiracy to traffic women within the UK for sexual exploitation and two charges of trafficking women into the UK for sexual exploitation.

Papas, 43, of Iffley Road, East Oxford, went on the run after his arrest and was convicted in his absence of two charges of trafficking women within the UK for sexual exploitation, one charge of conspiracy to traffic women within the UK for sexual exploitation, controlling prostitution for gain and converting £67,075 of criminal property.

He was eventually found at a flat in Staines in March.

Asked whether these convictions would end sex trafficking in Oxford, Oxcat spokesman Owen Gallagher said: “Quite the opposite. This case has opened the eyes to the possibility here and the market that’s present, and the potential for further opportunists like Papas and Cochrane.”

Oxcat works with the police and city council to raise publicity about the problem and is offering free training to hotel staff to help them know when rooms are being used by trafficked women.

Mr Gallagher added: “This case really lifted a veil on something that would have otherwise remained completely hidden.

“The evidence suggests it’s places just like Oxford – and we’ve seen it in Cheltenham and Exeter – that are not big places or hotbeds of crime where this is going on in the back streets.”

Jurors heard the prostitutes would charge up to £130 an hour, of which half would be kept by Papas. Drivers, including Cochrane, would get £20.

One of the women told the trial she could earn up to £5,000 in a good month.

Danielle Cooper, defending Papas, yesterday said her client was “a hard-working family man for many years” and his time in custody had exacerbated his health problems.

Christopher Van Hagen, defending Cochrane, who has a previous conviction for child pornography, said his client’s greed meant his role “drifted” from that of a driver to a potential agency owner.

Judge Gordon Risius jailed Papas for seven years with an extended period of licence of four years. Cochrane was jailed for five years.

Both men will sign the sex offenders’ register for life and are banned from “promoting or advertising any business or occupation relating to personal services which involve the employment of females”.

Oxcat can be contacted through oxcat.org.uk or 07812997888.

* Det Insp Simon Morton, who led the investigation, said: “This investigation started in January 2010 after we received a call from a man stating that he had ordered a prostitute but when she arrived she was very young.”

“This was the start of a very complex, and long-term operation, which saw the two men responsible for trafficking women into the country from Romania convicted.”

Anti-trafficking campaigner and MEP Catherine Bearder said: “This case demonstrates that human trafficking is not a problem that affects other countries or just the big cities.

“It’s happening in Oxford and Bicester and we all need to be vigilant and open our eyes to potential signs of trafficking.

“I’m proud to be working with Oxcat as part of the community partnership developed as a result of this case.”

Judge Gordon Risius said he wished to “pay tribute” to the work of police, including undercover officers, in “this unpleasant case”.