The head of a multinational gang that made millions of pounds by forcing terrified foreign teenagers to become prostitutes was jailed yesterday after police carried out a three-month covert operation.

During the surveillance, officers realised that they were, unusually, dealing with a gang from different countries working together to control the sale of drugs and girls, and the brothels where the girls were forced to work.

Lithuanian criminals would force the women to travel to Britain, as well as bringing in drugs, and then sell the girls on to Albanian or Chinese gangs, who would also take control of drugs such as cocaine.

A senior officer involved in the operation told The Times that it was the first time he had seen such cooperation between criminal groups from different countries. Superintendent David Eyles, of the Metropolitan Police’s clubs and vice unit, said: “It is the only area of criminality I know where different nations have worked together. Usually they are clannish and territorial.

“It is unusual for Lithuanians, Chinese and Albanians to work hand in glove to run a criminal operation. Once they are here the gangs cooperate and have a healthy relationship. Lithuanians will bring the girls in and then sell them to Albanians, who will set the brothels up. The Chinese are probably more to do with the drugs.

“It makes it less of a clear picture for us. If there are two or three cultures to contend with it makes it harder to understand how they are working.

“This operation ran for a year and they were making millions of pounds from prostitution and drugs.”

With up to nine girls in two brothels in West London making £100 an hour, each of the gang was potentially earning more than £400,000 a month in cash from prostitution alone, while the girls were given only a few pounds to live on as well as having to pay for their rent, clothes and food.

Virginijus Suchodolskis, 32, a former European motorcycle racing champion, was the gang leader and would threaten to break the girls’ legs and to kill them if they failed to entertain dozens of men a week.

Six of the seven gang members, who all drove expensive cars, were arrested in raids across London in December, at the two brothels they ran in West London and at their homes. The seventh was arrested when he walked into the public gallery at Westminster Magistrates’ Court to see what was happening to his colleagues. During the raids officers recovered cocaine and cannabis worth £100,000 and 10,000 tablets of MDMA, otherwise known as Ecstasy. A handgun was found in one of man’s 7-Series BMW.

After months of covert surveillance officers from the vice unit were helped when a 16-year-old girl escaped from a pub in Wolverhampton, where she was working as a prostitute after being forced from her home in Lithuania. The girls were not kept locked up but were subjected to psychological control and threats and had their passports taken away.

Mr Eyles added: “With all seven defendants pleading guilty we have successfully wiped out an organised crime syndicate involving prostitution and the sale of drugs in the heart of the capital.” Suchodolskis, a 250cc motorbike track champion in Lithuania and a former holder of the European title, was jailed for eight years by Southwark Crown Court after admitting controlling prostitution and false imprisonment. Brendan Kelly, for the prosecution, said that Suchodolskis and his minions ran the operation like “traders whose commodity happened to be prostitution”.

Petras Aleknavicius, Mantas Dumasius, Karrong Jiang, Edward Hui, Yao-Kang Huang and Grazydas Rudatis all admitted controlling prostitution and were jailed last month. All apart from Huang and Suchodolskis also admitted various drug offences.

Aleknavicius, 24, admitted controlling prostitution, possession of Class A drugs and was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison. He was recommended for deportation. Dumasius, 22, pleaded guilty to controlling prostitution, two charges of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs and possession of a loaded firearm. He was jailed for thirteen years.

Jiang, 26, was jailed for five years after admitting controlling prostitution and possession with intent to supply Class C drugs. Hui, 34, pleaded guilty to controlling prostitution and supply of Class A drugs and was sentenced to six years.

Huang, 27, received two years for controlling prostitution. Rudatis, 24, pleaded guilty to controlling prostitution and possession with intent to supply Class A drugs and was sentenced to seven years.

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