THE number of potential victims rescued from human traffickers in Scotland has risen by nearly one-third as more people move to bring the practice out into the open.

The Migrant Help charity said the rise was positive as it meant greater numbers felt they could come forward to police or other authorities such as charity and health workers.

The statistics were revealed as Police Scotland and Migrant Help took part in a campaign to further boost the public’s understanding of human trafficking.

It comes after the biggest operation of its kind in Scotland earlier this week in which 11 people, including children, were found working in nail bars.

Detective Inspector Chris Lewis, head of Police Scotland’s Human Trafficking Unit, said sophisticated organised crime groups are behind many of the trafficking operations.

Building up trust among migrant communities and officers has been key also to the upturn.

Mr Lewis said: “It’s not that human trafficking has only just become a problem, it has always been here.

“What’s happening now is that there are a whole host of measures that are in place, we are able to work with our partners closer, are more proactive in relation to identifying victims, I think more are encouraged to come forward.

“A lot of victims – in fact, in my experience, the majority – just don’t see themselves as victims.

“With the awareness we are promoting victims are starting to come forward. There is a greater trust all round.”

He added: “Some of the perpetrators are from the same country as the victim but a lot of them are British-based organised crime groups. They are sophisticated organised groups.

“Where there’s profit there is going to be a lot of interest from your traditional indigenous organised crime groups to be part of that.

“With the way the world is with technology it is very easy to make contact with other crime groups in other countries.”

According to the National Crime Agency, 145 people, including 42 minors, were rescued in 2015, an increase of 30 per cent from the previous year.

Migrant Help said across the UK it helped 3,266 people in 2015, an increase of 40 per cent compared to 2014.

Roger McVicker, human trafficking team leader at Migrant Help UK, said people can look out for tell tale signs of slavery.

He added: “We are talking about situations where people are working extremely long hours, are not being paid or not being paid very much, where they have their identification or passport removed, where they don’t have a mobile phone, or where they have language problems.

“That along with their general appearance, dirty or unclean, this is 2016, why would people be dressed in dirty clothing and look malnourished? That should set alarm bells.”

Among those helped by the charity is Omar, 27, who was trafficked from Kuwait and found in Glasgow, having worked in a restaurant under forced labour and been regularly subjected to violent abuse.

He said: “Anybody can use me for anything. Some person has me working for him for 15 or 16 hours. I don’t have any choice. I have nowhere to go. I ran away.”