Europol Assists French and Romanian Police to Dismantle Human Trafficking Network
During the action, which took place on March 22, Europol, together with the law enforcement authorities of France and Romania, searched 16 houses and arrested seven persons, AtoZSerwisPlus.Ro reports.
It has been revealed that ten house searches were done in France, whereas the other six were made in Romania.
During the same operation, the authorities also identified 32 victims – 13 in France and 19 in Romania – most of whom were Romanian nationals. In addition, they also seized digital equipment and mobile phones, luxury vehicles, cannabis from an indoor lab, and more than €23,000 in cash.
Europol has explained that the evidence that has been collected during this investigation suggests that the criminal network had been active since 2014. The members of this network mainly targeted vulnerable victims from financially and emotionally unstable situations by using the so-called lover boy method.
“The lover boy technique is widely used by criminals to recruit victims confronted with economic and social hardship. The suspects target their victims’ vulnerabilities and seduce them with expensive gifts and promises of a better life abroad,” Europol explains.
However, once the victims find themselves in a new home, they are forced into prostitution to earn money for their handles.
The network forced the victims to continue working by using threats and other acts of violence against them or their family members.
According to Europol, the investigators have already identified 28 victims exploited by the band located in France. The gang was based in three different countries – France, Spain, and Romani – and its members operated in rented locations in France and Romania.
The gathered evidence has shown that this network channelled around €1.3 million via money transfer companies. Moreover, the same also transferred more assets via cash couriers.
“Evidence suggests that the criminal network channelled around EUR 1.3 million in illegal proceeds to Romania via money transfer companies, and transferred more assets via cash couriers,” the statement of Europol reads.
It has been noted that the money originated from 250 localities in 25 states. Of all the money transfers, 80 per cent of them were made from internet cafes in Barcelona, and then they were addressed to the leaders in Romania.
France, Spain, Romania, and Europol established an operational task force to target this specific network back in 2020. The setup of this task force has enabled the investigators to identify the leaders and the other involved persons.
