Six Malaysian and Vietnamese men were sentenced by a British court Friday to prison terms varying between one and five years for trafficking women and forcing them to work in the sex trade.

Police believe hundreds of young women were recruited in Malaysia - some of them eager to sell themselves for cash, but others believing legitimate jobs were waiting for them - and were smuggled into Britain posing as tourists.

On arrival. gang members stripped them of their passports and return plane ticket before taking them to two brothels in west London and Birmingham, west central England, to work up to 12 hours per day.

None was allowed to step outside the brothel unless escorted by one of the gang members. They were only released and allowed to return home after they had worked to pay off their debts.

Police - who believed the operation generated a two-million-pound per year turnover since it started in mid-2004 - raided the properties on May 10 this year, arresting seven people.

Twenty-one women were rescued while searches unearthed more than 115,000 pounds in cash and safety deposit boxes, plus receipts indicating much of the money was spent on high-stakes bets and to sustain the gang's lavish lifestyle.

Tip of iceberg

Speaking after the sentencing at Southwark Crown Court in south London, Detective Superintendent Ian Dyson said in a statement: "The women we were able to rescue were only the tip of the iceberg.

"This criminal gang trafficked hundreds of Malaysian women into the UK, many of whom would have believed they were going to work in legitimate professions but found themselves forced and coerced into working in brothels.

"Rather than leaving the UK with the money they had hoped to earn, they have returned home abused and mentally scarred."

The six were among the 232 people arrested and 132 charges brought in Operation Pentameter, which operated across Britain and Ireland this year.

It saw 84 illegal immigrants - including 12 girls aged 14 to 17 - rescued from the sex trade. The charges included rape, assault, trafficking, money laundering and false imprisonment.