A Golders Green woman who was part of a gang profiting from prostitution and human trafficking has been jailed.

Janina Nuta, of Highfield Avenue, was found by police at a house in Paddington on April 28 as part of an investigation into the gang’s activities, where she was managing 105 mobile phones ringing intermittently.

Upon arrest, she was charged with controlling prostitution for gain, arranging or facilitating the travel of another person with view to exploitation and conceal, disguise, transfer or remove criminal property.

She was found guilty of these offences under the Modern Slavery Act and jailed for three years following a three-week trial at Isleworth Crown Court on Monday, November 14.

The 39-year-old was tried alongside her collaborators and fellow Romanian nationals Aliona Pislaru, Vlad Harzoparu and Ilie Melinte who received sentences from two to five years.

The gang made an estimated £15,000 a month from its operations, though very little of this profit was found to have been paid to the woman working for the gang as prostitutes.

Detective Inspector Stephen Kiely, from the Met's modern slavery and kidnap unit, said: “This investigation highlights the commitment to ending the trafficking and exploitation of vulnerable people.

“The victims in this case were callously manipulated and exploited by this trafficking network.

“I hope that the sentences handed down today bring them a measure of closure and comfort as they go about rebuilding their lives.”

In April, Nuta, Harzoparu and Pislaru were all found at the same address in Sussex Gardens, Paddington, while Melinte was found in Seymour Place, near Marble Arch, with four women working as prostitutes.

To disguise the activities of the group, Pislaru had registered a company and had even submitted accounts to HM Revenue and Customs.