AN ORGANISED crime group trafficked Romanian girls into Swindon to work as prostitutes and turned a residential property in the town into a brothel, a court has been told.
The group exploited young women into prostitution, taking a cut of their earnings and driving them to visit clients, prosecutors allege.
The OCG was led by Romanian man Gigi Ciobanica and used homes let by Purton landlord Priyantha Yakdehige, Swindon Crown Court was told over the last two days.
Yakdehige let out an address on Whitehead Street in the town centre, which was converted into a brothel where three women were selling sexual services.
The girls answered to the male group members or to ‘alpha female’ Cristina Olaru, Ciobanica’s partner who herself was brought to the UK as a sex worker, but who had risen the ranks of the gang, it is claimed.
In all, eight OCG members have been charged with conspiracy to engage in human trafficking and are standing trial over the next seven weeks. They are:
- Priyantha Yakdehige, age 53, of Vasterne Close, Puton. He is also charged with keeping a brothel used for prostitution and money laundering.
- Cristina Olaru, age 29, of Commercial Road, Swindon. She is also charged with controlling prostitution for gain and money laundering.
- Gigi Ciobanica, age 45, of Grasmere Road, Birmingham. He is also charged with money laundering.
- Victoria Olaru, age 25, of Commercial Road, Swindon.
- Danut Cretu, age 27, of The Chase, Croydon.
- Ionut Vulpe, age 26, of Commercial Road, Swindon.
- Ion Stroie, age 34, of no fixed abode.
- Daniel Cobzaru, age 38, of High Road, Leyton.
Setting out the case over the course of two days, prosecutor Nick Tucker said that Yakdehige “knew perfectly well what was going on but was happy to turn a blind eye as long as the rent got paid”.
Mr Tucker said it was Yakdehige himself that flagged concerns that prostitutes were operating at another of his properties, at Clarendon Cottages, in 2015. The prosecutor claimed this was “because he wished to cover his own back”, and that the sex worker found, Victoria Olaru, had later gone on to live in his other properties.
After numerous welfare visits, police became concerned the women were working for an OCG and launched a massive surveillance operation – codenamed Operation Supermarine – at the end of 2017.
“The prosecution say that Gigi Ciobanica, and by this time Cristina Olaru, are running a network of sex workers – bringing the girls over to the UK from Romania, installing them in properties owned by Yakdehige or his associate PK, setting up online adverts for them, and controlling the phone number which appears on their online profile,” Mr Tucker continued.
Prosecutors say the girls would send messages to their handlers telling them how long their appointments were, and message when they were done. They would also allegedly check what price to ask for.
Noting ledgers kept by numerous sex workers, Mr Tucker asked: “Why would a sex worker need to keep such a detailed record if she were not accountable to someone else who had an interest in what she earned?”
After almost a year of covert surveillance, police launched strikes on November 21, 2018, raiding the brothel on Whitehead Street, the home of Ciobanica and Cristina Olaru on Oakwood Road, the home of partners Victoria Olaru and Vulpe in Rycote Close and the home of Ciobanica’s nephew, Danut Cretu, in Chandos Crescent.
At the brothel, they found three sex workers, Mr Tucker said, as well as a customer who told police he had spent between £7,000 and £8,000 in three or four months. They also found sex toys, used wet wipes and around 150 used condoms – plus letters addressed to various members of the OCG who did not live there.
The surveillance footage showed that the property had more than 700 visitors between January and May 2018, most of whom stayed for less than 30 minutes, Mr Tucker said.
The sex workers were taken to a reception centre where they were interviewed, but all denied being forced to work or that the gang took a cut of their earnings.
It is claimed that Ciobanica led the OCG, with his partner Cristina Olaru first operating as a sex worker before gaining more responsibility, and was involved in setting up appointments and ‘outcalls’ for the other girls, as well as taking money.
It is also alleged that Victoria Olaru first came to the UK in December 2014, to work as a prostitute. But when she and her boyfriend Vulpe drove a young girl to the UK in 2018, they would have known she would have been working as a prostitute, Mr Tucker said.
Prosecutors also allege that Yakdehige was involved in arranging flights for girls to come to Swindon from Romania, and knew they would work for the OCG when they arrived.
The trial continues. The defendants deny all charges.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article