International sex trafficker Jagpal Singh starred in a BBC reality show in which “real people” were invited to give “real opinions” on the news of the day.
Singh, 52, was part of the regular cast of Common Sense, which purported to feature “real” members of the public “chosen for their sharp wit and humorous take on life, [to] discuss the week’s news” in 2017.
Last month, however, he was imprisoned alongside Chinese national Donglin Zhang, 49, Albanian national Vlassis Ntaoulias, 33, and Thai national Boonsong Wannas, 63, for trafficking women to Scotland and forcing them into prostitution.
In an article titled ‘The sex traffickers hiding in plain sight’, BBC Scotland social affairs correspondent Chris Clements recalled that, in addition to providing hot takes on U.S. President Donald Trump’s border wall and The Emoji Movie, the predator was invited to opine on the relationship between the sexes.
“Men like sex”, Singh said. “I’m not saying women don’t like sex. I think men like sex better. Women are always tired.”
Singh’s view of women on this topic may have been coloured by his relationships with his victims, such as a Chinese national described by Scotland’s Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) as having been “brought to Glasgow on the promise of paid employment” only to be “locked in [to a property owned by Ntaoulias] and compelled to work as a prostitute for [Ntaoulias and Singh], seeing as many as 10 customers per day.”
“The accused sentenced today exploited vulnerable women for their own financial benefit without any regard to the suffering they caused. Women were trafficked into Scotland to be used as prostitutes and moved around residential properties across the city of Glasgow,” commented Scottish procurator fiscal (prosecutor) Laura Buchan after Singh and his accomplices were sentenced for trafficking and brothel keeping — none to a sentence exceeding ten years, which they are unlikely to serve in full.
The BBC article on Singh’s time as an allegedly humourous everyman commentator on current affairs noted that human trafficking crimes like his are currently at a record high.
All told, people flagged as possible victims by the Home Office’s National Referral Mechanism (NRM) has increased by around 700 per cent since 2014.
“It is predominantly labour exploitation, or exploitation for forced criminality… followed by sexual exploitation,” that victims are drawn into, said Police Scotland’s National Human Trafficking Unit leader, Detective Superintendent Fil Capaldi.
“Some are hiding in plain sight,” he said of the exploiters.
“There are a number of cases we’ve had recently where members of the public have seen comings and goings at a strange hour, or seen a steady stream of men going to a particular door, and they’ve called that in.”
He explained that there is “a real international dimension” to the crimes, referencing collaborations with law enforcement in Continental European countries including Albania, Romania, and Hungary.
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