Five members of a Romanian grooming gang have been convicted following an extensive investigation into sexual exploitation, human trafficking and the supply of drugs in Dundee.
Marian Cumpanasoiu, 37, Remus Stan, 34, Catalan Dobre, 44, Cristian Urlateanu, 41, and Alexandra Bugonea, 34, were convicted of a number of offences at the High Court in Glasgow on Thursday. They are due to be sentenced next month.
The five were arrested and charged as part of Operation Recloir, which was launched in late 2021 to target a gang of suspected human traffickers forcing women from eastern Europe to work as prostitutes in Dundee.
BBC Scotland reported that vulnerable local women were also being groomed, with many given gifts and drugs including crack cocaine. The women were forced to have sex with the gang, and encouraged to recruit friends with the promise of drugs.
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Judge Lord Scott told the group: “This was an appalling catalogue of rape, serial sexual abuse and exploitation of extremely vulnerable, mostly, young women.”
According to the Dundee Courier, officers discovered the gang members were crusing bars and nightclubs in the city looking for vulnerable teenagers and young women to exploit. The youngest of their victims was just 16.
The gang’s victims were forced into prostitution
The women were trafficked between several flats in Dundee. In all, 10 victims gave evidence in the trial but detectives found evidence that as many as 45 women may have been targeted.
Footage of some of the victims engaging in sexual activity – described as “horrific” by Police Scotland detectives – was also discovered on one of the gang member’s mobile phones.
After arrest warrants were issued, three of the gang fled the UK and were later picked up on international arrest warrants in Belgium and the Czech Republic.
‘Victims may not realise they are victims’
After the verdicts in the Detective Inspector Scott Carswell said: “I’d like to thank our numerous partners for their assistance with our enquiries and their valuable support for all the victims identified throughout the investigation. Trafficking and exploitation is a blight on our communities and has no place in Scotland.
“We will continue target criminals who abuse, control and exploit people, working with partners nationally and internationally to bring offenders to justice, and to raise public awareness to help identify victims and ensure they get the support they need.
“Victims are often vulnerable, they may be trapped with limited freedom or options, and sometimes they may not realise that they are in fact victims. They seldom contact police directly and quite often come to our attention either through a support agency or when someone from a local community makes a phone call and raises a concern. That call can be the first step in freeing someone from slavery and exploitation.
“If you have concerns that someone is a potential victim, or any information, please report this to police on 101 or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, so we can investigate and take action.”
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