Albanian Gang Jailed in for Sex Trafficking

UK

Albanian gang jailed in for sex trafficking

Reuters

LONDON (Reuters) - Five Albanians who ran a violent, organised gang which lured young women from Lithuania to Britain where they were forced to work in brothels were jailed for a total of 63 years on Thursday.

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LONDON (Reuters) - Five Albanians who ran a violent, organised gang which lured young women from Lithuania to Britain where they were forced to work in brothels were jailed for a total of 63 years on Thursday.

Their major pimping and prostitution operation, which involved seven brothels across west London, was smashed by detectives who had been searching for a missing 16-year-old Lithuanian girl.

She was persuaded to go to Britain by two men she met in Lithuania and arrived in November 2004. Once in Britain, she had her identity details taken from her. She was then sold to members of the gang and given a false passport.

She was told she had to work as a prostitute and, despite initially trying to resist, she complied after believing she had no means of escape.

She was made to work seven days a week, earning up to 800 pounds a day, all of which was taken from her by the pimps.

The girl was eventually tracked down after police launched a nationwide hunt after they were contacted by her family who thought she might be in Britain.

An inquiry led detectives to uncover an organised trafficking operation with girls duped into coming to Britain with promises of a better life.

It led to a series of police raids in April 2005, when 21 women were recovered from the men's brothels.

Those rescued included two other Lithuanian girls, one who had been a virgin when she was brought to Britain. They had both been made available to clients 24 hours a day, with one having as many as 15 clients in a single day.

"This gang of men preyed on the vulnerability of these Lithuanian women, luring them into this country then holding them against their will and forcing them to work as prostitutes," Detective Superintendent David Eyles said.

"These young women have been traumatised by their exploitation, and in the one case had their first sexual experience under these horrendous circumstances. The seriousness of these offences cannot be understated."

Agron Demarku and Izzet Fejzullahu, the two masterminds of the operation, were jailed for 18 and 14 years respectively for a range of offences including international sex trafficking and causing sex without consent.

Flamur Demarku was also jailed for 18 years while Bedri Demarku and Xhevair Demarku were sentenced to eight and five years for numerous similar offences.