Inside the house where Kandasamy and Kumuthini Kannan enslaved a woman

Shocking images released by police reveal the conditions a woman kept as a slave was forced to live in - all in plain sight in an Aussie suburb. Photo / NCA NewsWire

An emaciated woman who was kept as a slave and forced to live in horror conditions for eight years in the suburbs of Melbourne is not a "one-off" case, Victoria's leading cop in the area has warned.

Kumuthini Kannan and her husband Kandasamy kept the Indian grandmother, who was found in a puddle of urine weighing just 40kg, captive and subjected her to "shocking abuse" inside their hedged Mount Waverley home.

In an exclusive interview after they were jailed for their crimes, Detective Superintendent Jayne Crossling, head of the Australian Federal Police's Victorian Human Exploitation team, has described the case as the "worst" modern slavery case she's come across.

Facebook image of Kumuthini Kannan (left) and Kandasamy Kannan (right).

But sadly, it isn't as rare as people think.

"Perhaps neighbours did notice things and maybe didn't think to report them," she said.

"(But) it can hide in plain sight in the suburbs of Australia.

"It's not a one off."

Shocking images released by police reveal the conditions a woman kept as a slave was forced to live in - all in plain sight in an Aussie suburb. Photo / NCA NewsWire

"We want Australians to know that unfortunately these sorts of crimes that you imagine happen in different parts of the world are actually happening here."

The AFP received more than 200 reports of modern slavery in the last financial year.

Authorities discovered the enslaved grandmother's condition after she was found lying in a pool of urine on the bathroom floor in 2015.

Kumuthini only called an ambulance after taking her children to a school concert and lied to authorities about her victim's true identity.

Detective Superintendent Crossling revealed the victim had gangrene when she was found.

The enslaved Indian grandmother's bedroom. Photo / NCA NewsWire

"She'd been laying on the floor for quite a period of time before finally she was taken to a hospital and admitted under a false name," she said.

"She had untreated diabetes, she had gangrene in her feet … she had no teeth," she said.

"There was evidence of beatings, of things being thrown at her, boiling water."

Shocking images released to NCA NewsWire by the AFP show the squalid and cruel conditions the woman, now aged 67, lived in, including a confined bedroom with some food boxes next to her bed.

Bags cover the top bunk of the bed and an ironing board was set up close to where she slept. The backyard was littered with junk including boxes as washing hangs on the line.

The victim couldn't speak or understand English, wasn't able to read or write in her native language and her communication with her family had been cut off.

Detective Superintendent Crossling said that was how her captors were able to get away with it for so long.

"She just wasn't sufficiently in touch with any part of the community in order for others to advocate on her behalf, which is really devastating," she said.

The backyard of the Kannan's former property is pictured full of rubbish. Photo / NCA NewsWire

The Indian grandmother cooked, cleaned and cared for couple's three children and was only paid about $3.39 per day.

Detective Superintendent Crosling said a person didn't need to be shackled to be a victim of slavery or exploitation.

For instance, some victims may not be able to be let out of the house without an escort, or only allowed out for a certain purpose and have been told not to talk to anyone.

The woman's passport was taken from her and she was in the country illegally after her visa expired.

"That was potentially used as a threat against her," she said.

The Kannans were found guilty of keeping the woman as a slave by a jury in April this year.

Kumuthini was jailed for eight years, while Kandasamy was jailed for six years.