Border policemen from Mehedinti, together with
policemen from Orsova and officers within Intelligence and Internal
Protection Service in Mehedinti, under the coordination of
D.I.I.C.O.T. prosecutor - Territorial Office in Mehedinti,
destroyed a criminal group which was trafficking young Romanian
minors to Italy and Romania, in order to practice prostitution.
The traffickers promised the girls and the parents of the minors
that they would obtain legally well paid work places abroad or they
would marry them, but at destination, the girls were sequestered
and obligated to prostitute.
Six girls, out of which five minors, were "trapped in the net" of
the traffickers; as a result of their exploitation, the criminal
group obtained profits amounting to more than 50.000 Euro.
At the end of last week, as a result of the raids carried out by
the border policemen, officers within S.C.C.O. Mehedinti and
gendarmes within County Inspectorate of Gendarmerie in Mehedinti,
in Orsova and Eselnita counties, the leader of the group - C.
Daniel (called Satan) was detained.
Currently, C. Daniel is in preventive arrest for 29 days; criminal
file was drawn up to the members of the criminal group for
committing trafficking with migrants, trafficking with minors and
procurement and they are risking a penalty up to 15 years of
imprisonment.
Information
In April 2009, the border policemen in Mehedinti, the officers within Orsova Police and the officers within Intelligence and Internal Protection Service in Mehedinti, obtained data and information regarding the members of a criminal group, made up by C. Daniel, aged 27, who was the leader of the group, supported by B. Ionut, aged 26 and G. Ecaterina, aged 55, who was dealing with person recruitment (young girls, most of them were minors), to whom they promised well paid work places (400 - 1.000 Euro), as waitresses or housekeepers in Italy or the men would marry them after a "trail period".
The leader of the group, C. Daniel (called Satan), from Orsova city, was taking advantage from the naivety of certain families with precarious circumstances on the radius of Mehedinti and Caras Severin counties, from where he recruited girls, generally minor girls. After he obtained notarial declarations in which the parents expressed their agreements regarding the travel of the minors, C. Daniel, with the help of B. Ionut and G. Ecaterina, transported the girls to Italy.
After they arrived in the "custody" of C. Daniel, the girls were frightened and threatened permanently by the leader of the group, who transformed his nickname "Satan" into his name, a nickname which was tattooed on his forehead.
Documentation of the criminal activity
Based on the information, the border policemen within County Inspectorate of Border Police in Mehedinti, under the surveillance of D.I.I.C.O.T. prosecutor - Territorial Office Mehedinti started the documentation of the entire criminal activity of the group.
Thus, it was established that, during October 2008 - April 2009, C. Daniel convinced the parents of five minor girls, aged between 14 and 17 from Mehedinti and Caras Severin, to allow them travel to Italy where they would offer well paid work places, as well as accommodation. On the basis of the parents and girls agreement, C. Daniel and B. Ionut transported the girls to Italy, where they "rented" them to other Romanian traffickers, with amounts comprised between 1.000 and 3.000 Euro.
All the girls were "lodged" in locations rented by the traffickers; their identity documents were detained and were obligated to have sexual relations.
Permanently, the traffickers threatened to beat them up, they were abused and obligated to gain daily, by practicing prostitution, at least between 300 and 500 Euro per day.
C. Daniel (Satan) acted the same way with N. Mihaela, aged 22, from Mehedinti County, to whom he promised that he would marry her, convincing her to accompany him to Italy. But at the destination, the girl was obligated to have sexual relations with other men.
The traffickers contacted personally Italian citizens and negotiated for the price - receiving in advance the value of the services offered (50 Euro) - after that the victim was obligated to accompany the "beneficiary" and to have sexual relations with him. The daily benefit obtained by the traffickers was between 1.000 and 1.500 Euro, totally, they obtained a "profit" of more than 50.000 Euro and the money was shared with the criminal group in Romania.
For this matter, C. Daniel extended his criminal activity also on Valea Oltului, placing minor girls to the truck drivers who were transiting Romania.
The detention of the trafficker
At the end of this week, based on the authorizations of house warrants issued by Mehedinti Court, the border policemen in Mehedinti, with the support of S.C.C.O. Mehedinti and County Inspectorate of Gendarmerie Mehedinti, carried out raids at the locations belonging to the traffickers from Orsova and Eselnita.
At the searches carried out at their houses, the border policemen in Mehedinti found several documents and objects belonging to the girls who were recruited and sold for sexual exploitation during October 2008 - April 2009.