Romanian vice gang who trafficked women from their own country around UK as prostitutes are jailed for total of 25 years

  • Nine men have been sentenced today over 'an extremely sinister case'
  • Vulnerable women throughout Lancashire were advertised online
  • The gang organised travel to the UK and then exploited and used the victims 

By Jessica Green For Mailonline

Published: | Updated:

Nine men who conspired to traffic and sexually exploit Romanian women as prostitutes across the UK - in an 'extremely sinister case' - have been sentenced for a total of 25 years.

The vulnerable women were driven to clients' homes and hotels throughout Lancashire after adverts were placed on website Vivastreet, Preston Crown Court heard.

Florinel Mitru, 31, Marius Trasca, 30 and Traian Gavrila, 31, from Lancashire, were among the several gang members arrested as part of Operation Ludlow - a nine-month probe into an organised crime group.

Ringleader Florinel Mitru, 31, from Preston, was sentenced to five years and four months in prison

Ringleader Florinel Mitru, 31, from Preston, was sentenced to five years and four months in prison

Ionut Cosmin Dogaru, 29, of Blackburn, got three years and four months
Alexandru Peter Baltoiu, 25, from Evesham, Worcestershire, was sentenced to two years and six months
Alexandru Pitigoi, 25, also of Evesham, Worcestershire, was given one year and 10 months in prison

Ionut Cosmin Dogaru (pictured left) got three years and four months, Alexandru Peter Baltoiu (pictured centre) was sentenced to two years and six months and Alexandru Pitigoi (pictured right) was given one year and 10 months in prison

Marius Dide, 27, from Preston, received two years in jail
Marius Trasca, 30, of Blackburn, was jailed for two years and nine months
Two years and two months in prison was given to Marian Diaconu, 26, of Blackburn

 Marius Dide, 27, from Preston, received two years in jail. Marius Trasca, 30, of Blackburn, was jailed for two years and nine months and two years and two months in prison was given to Marian Diaconu, 26, of Blackburn

Gang leader Mitru, of Preston, started to advertise 'out calls' - where the women would go to the clients hotels or homes - after police visited an address on St Barnabas Street, Blackburn, in June 2016, over fears that the premises were being used as a brothel.

Judge Robert Altham said the women were plainly vulnerable to exploitation.

He added: 'The case concerned a highly organised, well capitalised and sophisticated criminal enterprise.'

He detailed how one woman had arrived in Liverpool, at Mitru's request, without knowing what he did.

Judge Altham added: 'It is clear that in certain circumstances the women knew they would work as prostitutes. In her case she plainly did not,' reported the Lancashire Post.

Ringleader Mitru was sentenced to five years and four months in prison.

Marius Trasca, 30, of Blackburn, was jailed for two years and nine months and Traian Gavrila, 31, from Preston, was locked up for three years and nine months.

Traian Gavrila, 31, from Preston, was locked up for three years and nine months
Catalin Georgian Iordache, 28, also from Blackburn, was sentenced to one year and five months in prison

Traian Gavrila (pictured left), 31, from Preston, was locked up for three years and nine months. Catalin Georgian Iordache (pictured right), 28, from Blackburn, was sentenced to one year and five months in prison

Ionut Cosmin Dogaru, 29, of Blackburn, got three years and four months and Alexandru Peter Baltoiu, 25, from Evesham, Worcestershire, was sentenced to two years and six months.

Alexandru Pitigoi, 25, also of Evesham, Worcestershire, was given one year and 10 months in prison and Marius Dide, 27, from Preston, received two years in jail.

Two years and two months in prison was given to Marian Diaconu, 26, of Blackburn, and Catalin Georgian Iordache, 28, also from Blackburn, was sentenced to one year and five months in prison.

All defendants pleaded guilty to conspiring to traffic for purpose of sexual exploitation and were served deportation notices.

Mitru has convictions for corruption in Romania, and had at least £77,000 going through his bank account during the conspiracy.

The court heard the men controlled the women's entry into the country and their financial situation.

The criminals charged £120 an hour for the women and kept half.

The Insurance Fraud Bureau assisted the investigation by identifying false insurance details which had been obtained for some of the vehicles used by the gang.

Ben Fletcher, IFB Director, said: 'We are pleased that IFB were able to play a role in strengthening the case against Mitru. This is an extremely sinister case and we hope the sentencing goes some way in providing justice for the innocent victims involved.'

Det Sgt Stu Peall, of the Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery Team for Lancashire Police, said: 'A team of seven officers worked tirelessly to bring these offenders to justice. We managed to save 11 vulnerable women from an uncertain future. 

'The fact that these men admitted the offences is a testament to the strength of the evidence against them.

'Lancashire Constabulary remains committed to investigating human trafficking and modern slavery and taking robust action against those willing to exploit others for financial gain.

'Modern slavery is a difficult crime to detect and we would urge the public to report any concerns within their communities.' 

A number of women have been safeguarded as part of the investigation.

 

Most watched News videos

Comments 1

Share what you think

The comments below have been moderated in advance.

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

We are no longer accepting comments on this article.