Raid on sex traders

Scotland Yard today launched a massive assault on the multi-million pound Soho vice industry.

Dozens of police officers targeted the sex trade amid growing concern over links to organised crime.

Police arrested 13 people, closed down three clip joints - which had been watched for months - and seized thousands of videos and DVDs in a huge operation involving the Immigration Service and Westminster City Council enforcement officers.

The suspects are believed to be linked to robberies, blackmail and extortion, handling stolen goods, immigration offences and operating unlicensed sex clubs and shops.

In an operation code-named Reaper, 12 people were arrested from three different addresses in Soho. They are all being held at central London police stations. Another man was arrested on suspicion of handling stolen goods and immigration offences.

The three establishments lure customers inside with the offer of sex shows at £5 a time. Once inside, customers are presented with a bill for hundreds of pounds.

"Heavies" materialise from the shadows to make sure they pay up. Staff at clubs have also been known to march customers to cash machines.

Few people report the crime, though some claim they have been mugged in the street at knifepoint.