WHEN police swarmed on a travellers' site at Redbridge Hollow in June last year it was the culmination of a 'long and complex' investigation involving hundreds of officers and multiple organisations.

Three men were arrested during that raid as well as a fourth man in the Littlemore area during another operation.

A trial then came to Oxford Crown Court in which three of the four were acquitted, leaving Michael Joyce senior with a hung jury and no decision.

At the end of his retrial last week the 60-year old - described in court as the 'big man', was found guilty of five modern slavery offences.

Speaking outside of court after the five-year jail sentence had been passed detective inspector Ali Driver, of Force CID, based at Oxford welcomed the sentence.

READ FULL STORY: Traveller Michael Joyce who forced men to build him a pub and work for nothing sentenced.

He said: "These modern slavery convictions are the first of its kind using new legislation in the Thames Valley.

"The success of the prosecution is testimony to the dedication of our officers as well as the Crown Prosecution Service and prosecution barristers in this case.

"Forced labour and modern slavery is absolutely abhorrent, it is the exploitation of the most vulnerable in our society and we will always strive to bring offenders such as Joyce to justice."

Speaking of the scale of the operation he called the investigation, which was joined by teams from the National Crime Agency and the Southeast Regional Organised Crime Unit 'long and complex'.

He went on to praise the victims, who first raised the alarm to police, and went on to face their abuser during both trials.

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He added: "It is thanks to the courage of his victims, being prepared to stand up and tell their stories, that Joyce has now been convicted and sentenced."

Answering questions outside court DI Driver warned that there were still 'thousands' more cases of modern slavery nationwide.

He singled out 'nail bars and car washes' where offending was taking place and where 'people are maybe being exploited' before adding sexual exploitation was another issue to tackle.

Asked if he felt the five-year jail term was enough of a deterrent to others he said he believed it was and it showed prison terms would be handed to offenders.

He added: "Modern slavery takes many forms but the one common theme is that those responsible for it do their utmost to keep it hidden from view.

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"We must all take some responsibility to report any concern that people may be exploited and I would encourage anybody who is subject to any kind of criminality of this nature to report it."

The charges and sentences in full:

Two counts of requiring a person to perform forced or compulsory labour, five years in prison on each.

Two counts of arranging or facilitating travel of another person with a view to exploitation, three years in prison each.

One count of unlawfully engaging in money lending, six months in prison.

All sentences were ordered to run concurrently with each other.