A trafficking ring which allegedly sold teenagers and women for as little as £3,000 has been busted in a series of morning raids in Glasgow.

Dozens of officers from Police Scotland's Specialist Crime Division and Europol targeted four flats in the Govanhill area of the city as part of a three-year-long operation into trafficking and exploitation.

The flats were raided by 70 officers at about 8.45am on Thursday and three potential victims were found along with their alleged traffickers.

Dozens of officers from Police Scotland's Specialist Crime Division and Europol targeted four flats in the Govanhill area of Glasgow (pictured) on Thursday morning as part of an operation into human trafficking and exploitation

The flats were raided by 70 officers and three potential victims were found along with their alleged traffickers

Five people were detained including two Slovakian women, aged 40 and 25, two Slovakian men aged 58 and 28, and a Nepalese man, 35

Officers said a further 13 suspected victims, aged between 18 and 25, had already been helped to safety by police ahead of sting operations across the UK.

Women who are believed to have been raped, abused and forced to work as prostitutes were led to safety prior to raid.

Five people were detained in connection with Operation Synapsis, which has been in development since 2014 and spans the length of the UK.

Two Slovakian women, aged 40 and 25, two Slovakian men aged 58 and 28, and a Nepalese man, 35, were taken into police custody for questioning after the raids.

Officers said that Slovakian women as young as 18 were trafficked to the UK by bus and plane, having been promised a better life and work.

When they arrived they were allegedly sold for between £3,000 and £10,000 as part of a sham marriage scheme.

Their buyers, allegedly mainly men from Pakistan, wanted EU citizenship so they could live and work in Europe.

Women who are believed to have been raped, abused and forced to work as prostitutes were led to safety by officers

Police Scotland's Specialist Crime Division, the National Human Trafficking unit, financial crime and specialist officers from the Rape Taskforce, Europol, Immigration Enforcement, Glasgow City Council's social work department and Slovakian police were all involved

Victims that were not sold immediately were allegedly prostituted and raped.

Detective Inspector Steven McMillan, the Senior Investigating Officer, said there was no mention of having to get married before they came to the UK.

He said: 'They arrive in whatever house they end up in and at least two or three males enter.

'[They] have a conversation that they don't understand as it's in English or sometimes in Urdu, and it's the case of: "You're with him. He's got your identity document. You're going to marry him now".

'My own view on it is it's financial. They are treating these girls as a commodity. They can recruit them. It costs them nothing apart from a flight or a bus ticket.

Officers said that Slovakian women as young as 18 were trafficked to the UK by bus and plane, having been promised a better life and work

'The original purpose of the trafficking seems to have been the sham marriage but many of these women have been forced into prostitution, they have been raped, they have been subject to abuse that would never have happened if they hadn't been trafficked in the first place.

'Very quickly they will move them on and, in the cases where they haven't, these girls have been forced into prostitution, they have that element of control of over them and are still recouping the money

'When you're speaking to the girls and hearing their story, it's not one or two clients a night. It's a procession. It's absolutely horrible.'

The European Court of Justice in the Hague had to grant Police Scotland permission to form a joint investigation with Slovakian police and London'd Metropolitan Police before they could work together on targeting traffickers in the UK and abroad

Police Scotland's Specialist Crime Division, the National Human Trafficking unit, financial crime and specialist officers from the Rape Taskforce, Europol, Immigration Enforcement, Glasgow City Council's social work department and Slovakian police were all involved in the Govanhill raid.

The Trafficking Awareness Raising Alliance (TARA) were on hand to support any alleged victims.

The European Court of Justice in the Hague had to grant Police Scotland permission to form a joint investigation with Slovakian police and London'd Metropolitan Police before they could work together on targeting traffickers in the UK and abroad.