Latvian immigrants arrested in southern England

Illegal immigrants from Latvia were among the 95 people arrested by police and immigration officials in a sweep of 28 houses in rundown sections of this English port city, according to British media reports and the Hampshire Constabulary. Another 18 people, half of them Britons, have been charged as part of "Operation Leighton" with arranging illegal entry for the immigrants. The 95 illegal immigrants were mostly Polish nationals, according to police, but some were from the Baltic states. Most have been returned to their homelands. Hampshire police say that organized crime is now involved in human trafficking. According to police, the immigrants were offered high-paying jobs but instead ended up working in low-paying agricultural labor -- from nothing to GBP 3 an hour -- around Southampton.