Sex Trafficking 2005

Sex Trafficking and Prostitution
in the
United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland

Sex Trafficking 2005 Summary Note: Click on monthly heading to find links to original articles.
Also see: Sex Trafficking 2006: Jan Feb Mar Apr May
January 2005

	03 Jan	US State Dept. published its "Trafficking in Persons Interim Report."
	07 Jan	Albanians Taulant Merdanaj and Elidon Bregu were convicted of sex trafficking. Theirs were the first convictions under new UK Trafficking law.
	27 Jan	Pravda reported that the company "Media Service" sent abroad over 300 Russian girls during 2.5 years. The girls thought they were obtaining legitimate employment but were sold into prostitution. The firm received up to $3500 for each girl. Two female pimps were arrested.
	29 Jan	Scottish Sheriff Hugh Neilson resigned amid reports he had been found in Sept. 2004 in a sauna raided by police investigating the trafficking of foreign women for the sex trade. Neilson formerly presided over the pilot youth court in Hamilton. Neilson will still qualify for his pension and no criminal charges were brought against him.

February 2005

	09 Feb	Solicitor General Harriet Harman visited Eurojust and urged crack down on sex trafficking. Eurojust is the Hague-based European Union body established to enhance the effectiveness of the various bodies working to tackle people trafficking in the EU states.
	09 Feb	50 police officers from 11 countries traveled to Bangkok to attend training in methods of combating sex offences. (Articles related to the training point out that the UK has travel bans on people convicted of sexual offences - courts can prevent pedophiles from visiting certain countries.)
	11 Feb	Guardian published the article: "Migrant women forced into cheap sex trade". Details & statistics are given regarding East European prostitutes in London and sex trafficking in the UK.
	11 Feb	Mondaq published the article: "Trafficking - A transnational organised crime." It explores ways in which UK businesses can hide trafficking behind a legitimate business.
	13 Feb	Scottish Sheriff Hugh Neilson was interviewed for Presidency of Mental Health Tribunal. The job has a salary of £122,000. Neilson was found in Sept 2004 during a raid by police investigating the trafficking of foreign women for the sex trade He was in the waiting room of a Glasgow sauna, wearing only a towel. (Note: Mrs. Eileen Davie was appointed president Feb. 22, 2005)
	20 Feb	"Notorious Madam", Lithuanian Guinara Gadzijeva was forced to hand over £1million of her earnings. She had previously been convicted of trafficking hundreds of Eastern European girls into the UK as sex slaves. (See: "I was forced into prostitution in London", Mirror, March 22, 2004.)
	22 Feb	Albanian sex trafficker, Vullnet Ismailaj was sentenced to 11 years. He was arrested on Oct. 11, 2004. A 15 year old Lithuanian victim testified in court. Albanian Lorenc Rocci was sentenced to four years after pleaded guilty to conspiracy to control prostitution for gain. Albanian Sokol Qata was sentenced to 18 months in young offender institution. The judge recommended deportation for all 3 men. See: "Trafficker who ran vice empire jailed"
	23 Feb	Police arrested a 45 yr. old Polish national considered a "kingpin" in the London vice trade. Two other Polish nationals (a married couple) were also arrested. The arrests were made under Operation Parque. Police raided 19 London saunas and sex shops. Names were not given in news articles.
	25 Feb	Britain's ambassador, Colin Roberts, confirmed that human trafficking from Lithuania to Britain has increased since Lithuania joined the EU on May 1
	26 Feb	The Independent article "East European vice gangs cover whole of UK" provides details about East European prostitutes and pimps operating in every town and city in Britain. Superintendent Chris Bradford, the operational head of the Metropolitan Police's clubs and vice squad, is quoted regarding statistics and his observations.
	28 Feb	The US State Dept. published the 2004 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Ireland: "(Ireland) might be a destination country on a limited scale for trafficking in women and children. The country may also be a transit point for persons trafficked to or from Northern Ireland. There is anecdotal information that some women were trafficked within the country. Socially disadvantaged women and children were most likely to be trafficking victims." "The law prohibits trafficking in persons, and there were no confirmed reports that persons were trafficked to, from, or within the country; however, NGOs and others offered anecdotal evidence of trafficking." "The Child Trafficking and Pornography Act criminalizes trafficking in children for the purpose of sexual exploitation, with penalties of up to life imprisonment. The Illegal Immigrants (Trafficking) Act criminalizes trafficking in illegal immigrants and asylum seekers. No specific legislation addresses trafficking in women for sexual activities; however, laws prohibit the exploitation of prostitutes by means of coercion or fraud. Traffickers who facilitate for gain the entry of illegal immigrants or asylum seekers are liable for fines or 1 to 10 years' imprisonment. The Police National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) and the Department of Justice are the governmental organizations responsible for combating trafficking." "In 2003, Dublin police raided several lap-dance clubs that were employing illegal female workers, and the Limerick police raided a brothel that was bringing prostitutes into the city from Eastern Europe, although the women stated that they had entered the country voluntarily. A man and a woman were convicted for running the brothel: Both were sentenced to 4 months' imprisonment, but the woman's sentence was suspended. The press reported that three English language schools were being used as fronts to smuggle Eastern European women into the country to have them work as lap dancers and prostitutes. In December, the Justice Minister ordered tighter restrictions on access to foreign language schools. To cut down on scams and foreign students in forced labor situations, the students are now required to register with the Police National Immigration Bureau and will not be allowed to join the labor market unless they are attending a full-time course of at least 1 year in length." Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: United Kingdom: "The (United Kingdom) is primarily a destination country for trafficking in persons and occasionally a country of transit." "The law prohibits trafficking in persons for the purposes of prostitution, sexual exploitation, organ harvesting, or forced labor. The Sexual Offenses Act of 2003, which came into force on May 1, criminalizes trafficking offenses by citizens and residents, whether committed in the country or abroad, and carries a maximum sentence of 14 years' imprisonment. The Sexual Offenses Act of 2003 focused on issues of exploitation by coercers, pimps, and traffickers. The penalties for keeping a brothel were increased, and a new range of offenses for causing, inciting, and controlling prostitution for gain were introduced. Separate offenses were also introduced to combat the exploitation of children through prostitution, with severe penalties for causing, inciting, controlling, arranging, or facilitating the prostitution of a child. For the purposes of the Act, the offense can take place anywhere in the world. The Act also criminalizes the buyer, with the new offense of paying for sexual services of a child. The "Reflex" Task Force, which brings together agencies that combat trafficking and migrant smuggling in persons, reported that the authorities have been responsible for 38 disruptions of criminal gangs and 38 convictions for organized immigration crime between April 2003 and March. In the first 6 months of the year, there were 18 disruptions and more than $1,800,000 (1,000,000 pounds) of assets seized."

March 2005


	02 Mar	UK Ministers agreed that they will make human trafficking a priority for their 6 month presidency in the EU (beginning in July 2005) and to increase support services for trafficked people. There was discussion regarding the ability to prosecute clients of trafficked prostitutes under the Sexual Offences Act's definition of consent, and possibly rape charges being made against men who have sex with trafficked women.
	03 Mar	Home Office Minister Caroline Flint warned Romanians that illegal immigrants may become sex slaves in Britain.
	08 Mar	International Women's Day. Various articles were published regarding sex trafficking. There are between 200,000 and 500,000 victims of human traffickers annually, most of them young women forced into the sex industry.
	09 Mar to 17 Mar	A number of articles were published regarding sex traffickers Macedonian Shaban Maka, Xhevahir Pisha and Ilir Barjami. Maka was sentenced to 18 years, Pisha to 5 years, and Barjami to 15 years. Maka allegedly also murdered men in Albania and Scotland. Their trafficking victim was a 15 year old Lithuanian girl who was sold for £4,000, re-sold for £3,000 and £1,500 to seven different men. She came to the UK believing she would be selling ice creams for a summer job.
	18 Mar	The OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) conference was held in Vienna. Over 200 international experts met to hear reports on the use of young girls and boys from the Balkans and Eastern Europe in prostitution and pornography. One third of trafficked victims are under 18.
	20 Mar	An opinion piece by Kevin Myers was published in the Telegraph: "Shall we end child-slavery in Britain?" Myers points out that government figures indicate there were 1,750 victims of sex trafficking into UK in 2003 and suggests life imprisonment for child sex traffickers.

April 2005

	01 Apr	The Crouch End council met to decide whether to renew the massage and special treatment licence for "massage parlour" owned by Josephine Daly. In 2002, Daly was ordered to hand over more than £2million when the court heard that women had been smuggled from Thailand & Eastern Europe and were servicing over 1500 men per week in her massage parlours. (Note: Currently attempting to find articles about the original conviction and the outcome of the Crouch End council meeting. The only article found to date is : "Notorious massage parlour faces the axe" - Original url: http://hamhighbroadway.london24.net/broadway/news/story.aspx?brand= NorthLondon24&category=Newsbroadway&tBrand=northlondon24&tCategory= newsbroadway&itemid=WeED01 Apr 2005 11:17:22:503)
	02 Apr to 07 Apr	A number of articles were published regarding the Schengen open-borders agreement and its impact on trafficking. Travelers arriving at one of the EU's outer borders are checked once and thereafter travel freely inside nearly all bloc nations. Britain and Ireland declined to join system, preferring control of cross-border flows as a national responsibility.
	06 Apr	Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin met with Jean Fournet, NATO's deputy secretary-general for public diplomacy and afterward announced plans to open an anti-trafficking center to curb human smuggling. He also requested international monitoring of the Transdniester section of the Moldova-Ukraine border, and said that international controls there "would put a barrier to smuggling, trafficking in people and weapons so typical of that region."
	10 Apr	Trial at Southwark Crown Court: Edward Day owned massage parlours and split the profits with his brother Alan His sons Teddy and Steve ran the "massage parlours". There were 7 total in London and Essex. They were arrested July 2004 and pleaded guilty March 2005. Others involved are: Richard White, Nicholas Slesser, and Philip Culleton. Culleton's girlfriend, 44-year-old Linda Lee, worked as a maid at some of the premises. Their sentencing is scheduled for April 18. The undercover police investigation in 2004 found Eastern European sex slaves.
	13 Apr	Amnesty International urged the EU to accept the Draft COE Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings
	13 Apr	The United States and Sweden joined together to provide funding to the Protection Project to combat human trafficking and prostitution in 12 European countries.
	14 Apr	A relief worker wrongly reported to be involved in trafficking won a libel suit against journalists Dominic Hipkins and Graham Johnson.
	14 Apr to 15 Apr	A number of articles were published regarding three Chinese girls missing in Britain since March 30th: Mei Fang Weng, 15, Xiu Ming Lin and Yun Jen He, both 16. Their names were also given as "Weng Meifang, Lin Xiuming and He Yunjin". They are thought to be from Southwest China's Sichuan Province.
	17 Apr	The Channel 4 series about trafficked eastern Europeans, "Sex Traffic" won a British Academy Television Award.
	22 Apr	Police raided a Sutton brothel and found Thai sex slaves. They also uncovered information about a sophisticated prostitution gang.
	30 Apr	A 32 yr. old woman brothel owner was accused of placing false advertisements on a community website to recruit Kenyan girls.

May 2005

	09 May	An excellent, in depth article by Maggie Stratton was published in the Yorkshire Post. "The people traffickers" reveals details about sex trafficking into the UK and includes an interview with a 16 year old Lithuanian victim, "Elena", trafficked into prostitution by Shaban Maka and Ilir Barjami. (See March 9)
	10 May	The EU launched its 5 year Action Plan for Freedom, Justice and Security. The plan maps out concrete measures to strengthen citizen’s security, to tackle terrorism, to strengthen the Union’s external borders and the fight against illegal-drugs, people-trafficking and organised crime. A mid-term review of the Action Plan will take place in November 2006.
	11 May	According to an International Labour Organisation report on forced labor, published on this date, an estimated US$32 billion was made by human traffickers in 2004. See: A Global Alliance Against Forced Labor (PDF file)
		BBC News (and others) provided follow up articles after the ILO report was published. See: "Forced Labor - Global Problem" by David Loyn and an article more specifically focused on the sex industry: "Sex trade's reliance on forced labour" by Jorn Madslien.
	12 May	Austrian authorities said that they smashed a major human trafficking ring allegedly led by Romanian, Moldovan and Ukrainian criminals who smuggled more than 5,000 eastern Europeans to the west in the past few years.
	15 May	International criminal gangs operating among Asian and other immigrant communities in Britain are costing 22 billion pounds a year according to Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur. Criminals from Eastern Europe and south Asia were systematically abusing the immigration system to operate illegal businesses, including people trafficking, prostitution, drugs and counterfeiting.
	16 May	Amnesty International, Anti-Slavery International, the National Federation of Women's Institutes and UNICEF UK called on the British Government to sign up to the "European Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings".
	18 May	Migrant communities from Indian, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka were warned by Scotland Yard not to tolerate gang activity in their communities. Gangsters are making millions from people-trafficking, prostitution, drugs and counterfeiting while living within their respective communities in the UK.
	18 May	Gloucestershire chief constable Tim Brain urged full implementation of a national strategy to tackle covert prostitution in massage parlours and saunas. He said that society must have a less ambivalent position about the nature of the vice industry, which he said was "organised crime on a big scale with big profits." One operation uncovered a secret room in a massage parlour which housed 49 girls illegally trafficked into the UK. Assets of £5 million were uncovered and 15 arrests made.
	27 May	Brothel madam, Ann O'Brien, 32, was convicted at Southwark Crown Court of four counts of controlling prostitution and is due to be sentenced on June 22. Prosecutors announced they will try to recover her profits. She was the lynchpin in a trafficking trade involving hundreds of women from eastern Europe. Police say they do not know how many women passed through her hands but that a number of pimps took their girls to her.
	27 May	Home Secretary Charles Clarke outlined plans re: readmission of illegal immigrants to their home countries. The management of illegal immigration will be one of the UK's top priorities for its presidency in the EU. Clark said there was no question in the short or medium term of Britain joining the EU's Schengen Agreement Area, the passport-free travel zone from which Britain and Ireland have opted out.
	29 May	Michael McDowell, Minister for Justice, is preparing new laws to combat the exploitation and trafficking in illegal immigrants. McDowell is drafting legislation that will criminalise trafficking in foreign nationals for the purpose of their sexual and labour exploitation.
	31 May	The Home Office will not sign the Council of Europe's anti-trafficking convention that became open for adoption this week. It obliges signatory states to provide safe housing, medical treatment and legal aid, even if victims refuse to co-operate in criminal investigations.

June 2005

	03 Jun	The US State Department published the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000: Trafficking in Persons Report: 2005 Report. This report is published annually and is commonly referred to as the "TIP Report". A number of articles related to the 2005 report can be found online. Findings specific to the United Kingdom can be found here: Trafficking in Persons Report: United Kingdom.
	16 Jun	In an article published in the Scotsman, John-Paul Ford Rojas reported about Child Trafficking. "Plumbing the Unknown Depths of Child Trafficking"
	22 Jun	According to an article written by Rosie Cowan of the Guardian, 19% of kidnaps the Met deals with involve human trafficking, often of young east European or Asian women brought into the country illegally and then sold on as sex slaves. In some cases, money is extorted from their families in China, eastern Europe or elsewhere. See: A kidnap a day by foreign gangs in London
	28 Jun	The Cambridge Evening News reported about a case being heard at Cambridge Crown Court regarding a 29 yr. old Russian teacher who claims she was forced into prostitution by Albanian gang. See: Woman 'sold to gang as sex slave' tells of abuse.


July 2005

	12 Jul	Ruhama Women's Project annual report for 2003/2004 published. They encountered 91 women trafficked into sex industry and helped 21. Criminal gangs are using the internet & mobile phones. Ruhama called for Vice Squad & legislation to address trafficking. Spokeswoman Geraldine Rowley said there was no doubt lap-dancing clubs linked to trafficking and prostitution. See: Report finds rise in trafficking of women.
	12 Jul	In the Opinion article "How to stop the world's worst crime", Author Ed Vulliamy of the Guardian suggests greater protection for trafficking victims and urges the UK sign the EU treaty under consideration this week. Italy is only country that does not require victims to testify against traffickers to be given protection. British gov. supports Poppy House, which has 25 beds, all full. More must be done. Harriet Harman has been appointed by British gov. to "take on a special responsibility in our office" for trafficking."


August 2005

	03 Aug	According to the National Criminal Intelligence Service, Britain's open borders with Ireland are being exploited in both directions by illegal immigrants. Human trafficking gangs are using low-cost airlines and smaller airports to import illegals to Britain.


September 2005

	06-Sep	"Operation Cuero." Officers from Scotland Yard's Clubs and Vice Unit arrested 38-year-old man on suspicion of controlling prostitution and trafficking women into the UK for the purposes of sexual exploitation.
	12-Sep	Interview with representative of ECPAT (End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes) published: "Vietnamese immigrant children in desperate straights in the UK"
	16-Sep	Viktoras Larcenko, 25, pleaded guilty and jailed for 10 years. "Mastermind" of human trafficking gang who smuggled Lithuanian girls to the UK in 2003 and forced them into prostitution. Larcenko ran operation with his sister Rita. Rita Larcenko , 20, sentenced to 14 years for conspiracy to traffic in prostitution, conspiracy to kidnap and money laundering. Jason Tai - 15 years for conspiracy to traffic in prostitution, rape and living on prostitution Dan Ket Duong , 45, - 30 months for conspiracy to traffic in prostitution. Salina Abdul-Rahim , 40 - three years for money laundering and exercising control over prostitution. In total the gang received 51 years. Crown Prosecution Service has prosecuted four similar human trafficking cases in 2005 - 15 individuals convicted. The majority of cases concern trafficking into forced prostitution from Eastern Europe. Traffickers have been of Albanian, Kosovan, Macedonian and Lithuanian origin and some of the female victims are Russian, Estonian and Lithuanian. Three cases and six defendants are awaiting trial. It is believed that human trafficking is the third most profitable activity for organised crime after drugs and arms dealing. See: Jail for human trafficker kingpin Brother and sister jailed for sex-trafficking
	18-Sep	Police crackdown on sauna and brothel owners in Scotland is aimed at stamping out human trafficking from eastern Europe and Asia into Scotland's sex trade. The vice trade is estimated at £11million.
	30-Sep	Cuddles massage parlour in Birmingham raided. Women from Latvia, Japan, Hong Kong, Italy, Greece, Turkey and Poland were freed by police. The women's passports had been taken, and they were locked into the massage parlour at night and kept captive in a house during the day. An English woman and three men were arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the management of prostitution. See: 'Sex slaves' rescued in massage parlour raid Foreign sex slaves freed in dramatic police raid (Oct. 1) Police free sex trade women in raid on massage parlour (Oct. 1)

October 2005

	01 Oct	Tasim Axhami pleaded guilty to trafficking. He told jury he paid £700 to "traffic" an 18 yr. old Lithuanian to Yorkshire after being told she could earn money for him in the sex trade. He claimed he was under the impression the girl was willing participant. Emiljan Beqirat also pleaded guilty to trafficking. Two Lithuanian girls testified against the men and said they had been forced into prostitution in London. See Yorkshire Post article: Lithuanian girl bought for £700 'was willing prostitute'
	02 Oct	Police in Scotland are investigating "bogus" Scottish colleges possibly being used by people traffickers. See: Probe launched into ‘bogus’ Scots colleges
	05 Oct	Six of the 19 women rescued by police from "Cuddles" brothel in Birmingham (see above) were due to be removed from the UK by immigration but had their expulsion deferred following pressure from campaigners. Human rights lawyers were refused access to the women, who were being held in Yarlswood detention centre in Bedfordshire on the grounds that they were not victims of trafficking and were in the country illegally.
	12 Oct	Cambridge expert, Graham Ritchie (a director of the Unit for the Law of Children and the Vulnerable - at Anglia Ruskin University) stated that the trafficking of women and children to the UK for the sex trade has become endemic. says the transportation and exploitation of women and children probably involves thousands of people in the UK. He said organised crime in the former Soviet bloc had led to Eastern Europe becoming the main supplier of workers to the sex trade in the UK. Ritchie believes that the Government's information on female sex trafficking victims is out of date, the figures for children are simply unknown, and that trafficked children have gone missing from West Sussex social services. Ritchie's unit will be monitoring people trafficking in Europe over the next year.
	16 Oct	The UK and Sweden are hosting a seminar in Brussels on trafficking. Home Office ministers believe that men who have sex with trafficked prostitutes should be charged with rape. Thousands could be prosecuted. Prostitution and the trafficking of women have become the third highest 'black market' income earner after drugs and the arms trade. There is "a significant shift towards criminalising men who pay for sex. Men are not now considered to have committed an offence, although it is illegal for women to solicit and for men to 'kerb crawl' or to pimp women." Former Europe minister Denis MacShane said: 'It's time for honest language. When a man has sex with a frightened, beaten and intimidated woman there is only word to describe it and that is rape. I am pleased that the Home Office now recognises that. We need to see charges against men who have sex with women who are living in fear after being trafficked.'
	18 Oct	A group consisting mostly of current and former prostitutes lobbied the European Parliament to legalise prostitution in Ireland and other European countries. Their call was rejected as "an endorsement of the misery an exploitation" by critics of prostitution. Ireland has no plans to change existing legislation. "Operation Angel" was mounted in Ireland two years ago to crackdown on illicit lap-dancing clubs that were also acting as brothels and exploiting illegal immigrants. See article: New laws plea to protect EU's vulnerable sex trade workers for further details of the debate.
	18 Oct	Tasim Axhami (from Kosovo), Emilijan Beqirat (from Albania) and Lithuanian Vilma Kizlaite (from Lithuania) were convicted of trafficking women into the UK and forcing them to work in brothels. Axhami was sentenced to 21 yrs, Begirat 16 yrs., Kizlaite 11 yrs. All three were convicted of trafficking the women and of sex trafficking charges. They were all convicted of false imprisonment but Kizlaite was acquitted on the charge of forcing a woman into sexual activity. Axhami was convicted on three counts of rape and all three were convicted of causing female sexual activity without consent. Beqirat and Kizlaite were also convicted of controlling prostitutes for gain.
	22 Oct	British police claim that organized crime enterprises in the UK are making millions in profit from trafficked women. UK politicians have been critical of the Blair gov. for not doing enough to crackdown on slave trading gangs. Police say that gang wars are breaking out due to the saturation of sex slaves. Critics of the government claim that not allowing rescued victims to remain in Britain long enough to recover from physical and mental trauma is wrong and that more should be done to help freed slaves. There are no accurate gov. statistics on the number of sex-trafficked women. Police estimate that upwards of 10,000 illegal aliens are working as prostitutes in Britain.
	24 & 25 Oct	Europe-wide conference on human trafficking and illegal immigration held at Gatwick Hilton. Presentations on the first day include: Commission and Council Plan 2005 to Develop Common Standards and Best Practices to Prevent and Combat Trafficking in Human Beings (Jürgen Merz) European Commission Council of Europe Convention on Trafficking in Human Beings (Gianluca Esposito) Council of Europe European Standard Module for Anti-Trafficking, Training of Judges and Prosecutors in Europe (AGIS project / Elisa Trossero, Int'l Centre for Migration Policy Dev.)

November 2005

	04 Nov	The Evening Standard published "I was sold for GBP2,000, but I'm one of the lucky ones - I'm free now", an article about Natasha, a Russian teenager who was a victim of sex trafficker Niki Dimitrov. (Also see 2004 articles: Pimp sold 'London's youngest escort' / Pimp threatened to kill girl and others regarding the case)
	06 Nov	Glasgow announced that trafficked victims discovered during raids on brothels in Glasgow are to be offered 30 days “safe haven” in the city, even though the move contradicts current Home Office policy.
	10 Nov	Cardiff Crown Court hearing case against alleged sex traffickers Akil Likcami , "Benny" (who remains at large) and Gjerji Mungiovi-Cuka. A 20 yr. old Lithuanian girl was forced into prostitution and worked in Cardiff at the Executive Sauna and Abigail's massage parlours.
	10 Nov	The Yorkshire Post reported that sex traffickers are using smaller airports to smuggle in women due to tighter controls at Heathrow and Gatwick. See: Sex-trade children flown to region
	11 Nov	Cardiff Crown Court case against alleged sex traffickers Akil Likcami , "Benny" and Gjerji Mungiovi-Cuka continued. Testimony was heard from a 21 yr. old Lithuanian woman who testified that she was forced by the Albanian gang to work as a prostitute in 3 brothels. She said that the men were initially good to her but eventually threatened to kill her if she escaped. The woman was purchased for £5,000 after being smuggled into Britain from Vilnius in January. She admitted that she was aware she would be working as a prostitute and that she had previously done so in other countries. In the UK she would see up to 7 clients and earned more than £500 per day. The earnings were split between the brothels and the gang. Gjergj Mungiovi-Cuka, 19, of Caldicot denies the sex trafficking charge, Akil Likcami of Cathays, Cardiff pleaded guilty. The third man, "Benny" remains at large.
	11 Nov to 27 Nov	David Harrison of the Telegraph wrote a number of articles describing his undercover investigation into sex trafficking. He traveled to Macedonia, a hub and transit destination for trafficked women. Harrison was given exclusive access to police videos of raids on cellars where sex trafficking victims were found, interviewed victims etc. Please see: Mine for £1,300: Ileana, the teenage sex slave ready to work in London 'You say she work for you. Or we have other ways' (Nov 11, 2005) 'I was raped and beaten. I lost the will to run away' (Nov. 13, 2005) Revealed: kept in a dungeon ready to be sold as slaves...the women destined for Britain's sex trade (Nov. 27, 2005) The plight of the cellar girls (Nov. 27, 2005)
	14 Nov	BBC News reported about sex trafficking case underway in court against Albanian Leonard Llanaj and girlfriend Lisa Benjamin. They deny charges of sex trafficking two Lithuanian women. The women testified that they were held captive, raped and forced into prostitution. They were driven to massage parlours across the UK, including "Palm Springs" and "Pleasures", both in Leicester, and other massage parlours in Bristol, Swindon and Leeds. The women were rescued after a sauna owner in Leicester called police. See: Pair deny sex trafficking charges
	15 Nov	Cardiff Crown Court case against alleged sex traffickers Akil Likcami , "Benny" and Gjerji Mungiovi-Cuka continued. Albanian carpentry student Gjergj Mungiovi-Cuka claimed in court that he did not know that a Lithuanian woman who shared an apartment with him and a friend was working as a prostitute. He denied taking part in purchasing her for £5,000 and forcing her to work in 3 brothels in Cardiff: the Executive Sauna, No 19 and Abygales massage parlour. Friend and flatmate, Akil Likcani, pleaded guilty to trafficking and controlling a prostitute. The third gang member (Kosovon "Benny") is at large.
	17 Nov	The Cardiff Crown Court jury found Gjergj Mungiovi-Cuka guilty of the sex trafficking of the 21 yr. old Lithuanian woman.
	18 Nov	BBC News interviewed "Louise", a prostitute working in Cardiff who spoke of her fears for the growing number of foreign women being forced to work in brothels across the city. She believes that 90% of the girls are pushed into it and that police should take a more active role in check the activity of brothels.
	21 Nov	The Irish Times reported that health authorities in Ireland have expressed fears that most of the 250 children who have disappeared from care in the last four years have been trafficked and are being sexually exploited. Original article published in Irish Times (subscription only.)


December 2005

	01 Dec	Five Albanian men who made a £2m fortune from trafficking young women into a prostitution ring were jailed for a total of 63 years. The offence has never before been tried at a UK court. Four brothers - Flamur Demarku, Xhevair Demarku, Agron Demarku, Bedri Demarku- and a friend, Izzet Fejzullahu. They were arrested following "Operation Rotunda." Victims were lured to the UK with promises of work or sightseeing trips, but ended up trapped in the prostitution ring. 19 year old Lithuanian victim had her virginity sold for £40.
	08 Dec	Albanians Akil Likani and Gjergj Mungiovi-Kuka pleaded guilty to sex trafficking a Lithuanian woman. Likani sentenced to 6 years in young offenders' institution. Mungiovi-Kuka sentenced to 4 years in young offenders' institution.
	15 Dec	UN published annual "State of the World's Children" report. Estimates are that 1.2 million children are being trafficked for sex and other forms of exploitation.
		Hungarians Andrea Kinga Borcsok and Atilla Makai were arrested at Stansted Airport following recent raid on Cuddles Massage Parlour in Birmingham (see above 30 Sep.) They were charged with bringing people to the UK for sexual exploitation.