A former British policeman has been arrested in Thailand over claims he sold women into slavery. Ian Shuttleworth is accused of luring Thai women to London under false promises of a job in a restaurant. Thai police believe the women were then sold to brothel owners who forced them into sex slavery. Mr Shuttleworth, 45, who runs a security services agency in Bangkok, protested his innocence at a media conference in Bangkok on Wednesday. Police Major General Panya Maman said: "We arrested him because a victim, whom the suspect sent abroad but now is in Thailand, insisted that the suspect sent her for prostitution." No charges Mr Shuttleworth, who was born in St Helens, Merseyside, said: "An allegation has been made and the police have to do their job. "They must arrest me in the circumstances because of the allegation that has been made.
"At the moment, I don't really know exactly what the situation is." No charges have yet been brought by Thai police. Mr Shuttleworth's son James, 27, a project manager from Leeds, who was with him when he was arrested, told BBC London he was shocked at the allegations. But he added: "I know that my dad has nothing to worry about." He said his father was semi-retired and had been living in Bangkok for around five years. |
I know that my dad has nothing to worry about 
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