A tough anti-slavery crackdown will make it compulsory for public bodies to tell the police about suspected human trafficking.

Investigators say the move will reveal the true scale of the problem in Scotland and enable investigators to free victims and catch more slave traders.

All 14 Scottish NHS boards, 32 councils, the Scottish Ambulance Service, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and the Scottish Prison Service will in future be legally obliged to tell Police Scotland about slavery cases they encounter.

The move follows a probe by the Sunday Mail last month, which found that trafficked women – often lured from abroad – have been sexually exploited in almost every part of Scotland.

We also revealed how human traffickers are using the UK’s biggest community website, Vivastreet, to advertise enslaved women for sex.

Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf said: “These plans will create a statutory duty on Scottish public authorities to ensure that the information obtained by Police Scotland is publicly available.

“This intelligence will ultimately help us to protect and support more vulnerable people.

“Human trafficking is a hidden and often complex crime, meaning the true scale of the problem is unknown.”

Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf says the move will "protect and support more vulnerable people"

In the past year, the Glasgow-based Trafficking Awareness Raising Alliance (TARA) helped 44 women who were new victims of sexual slavery – a rise of 42 per cent in the previous 12 months.

The majority of women forced into prostitution told TARA that their services had been advertised online on sites like Vivastreet, in their Escort sections.

Police Scotland’s Assistant Chief Constable Gillian MacDonald added: “The introduction of a ‘duty to notify’ is a positive step.

“It will assist in helping victims escape the clutches of traffickers, as we work to make Scotland a hostile environment for this type of inhumane criminality.”

The Scottish Government say there will be public consultation on the plans before the new move becomes law.

NHS staff such as doctors, GPs, dentists and pharmacists will be expected to tell police about suspected slavery cases they come across.

Malcolm Wright, chief executive of NHS Scotland, said: “All staff across the NHS in Scotland can play a pivotal role in identifying potential victims of human trafficking and exploitation that may otherwise go unnoticed or remain invisible.

“We all have a responsibility to share information with the appropriate authorities to support safeguarding and the reporting of crime.”

Trafficking involves men and women being used as forced labour or domestic servants. Some women are used as cheap labour in nail bars while the men are often made to work in cannabis farms.

Assistant Chief Constable Gillian MacDonald

Figures from the National Crime Agency show 82 men and women were found to be working as slaves in Scotland in the first three months of this year, ­compared with 53 in the same period last year – an increase of almost 40 per cent.

The victims can come from as many as 25 countries, including Albania, Vietnam, Romania, China, Nigeria and Namibia. Slaves have been found in almost 30 towns and cities across Scotland, including Aberdeen, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Perth and Inverness.

Victims have also been found in towns such as Fort William in the Highlands, Larkhall in Lanarkshire, Annan in Dumfriesshire and Alva in Clackmannanshire.

Vivastreet is one of the top two classified ad sites in the UK.