Police bust massive sex trafficking ring
Six men are set to be charged on Wednesday in the Gothenburg District Court on suspicions of operating a comprehensive human trafficking operation which brought young women from Romania to Sweden to sell sex.
According to prosecutors, the trafficking ring is one of the largest of its kind ever uncovered in Sweden.
”There are many people involved who pulled in large amounts from this criminal activity,” said prosecutor Thomas Eliasson in a statement.
Last year in Gothenburg, 255 men were reported and fined for buying sex, a number which led local police to crackdown on the crime.
“This is quite a lot and it is really thanks to the local police in the city who have actively fought against this. An operation with a focus on the crime. You can’t do several small samples from time to time, because then you can’t report 255 men in one year,” Ulla Brehm of the Västra Götaland police told the TT news agency.
Further investigation led police to the discovery of the Romania-linked trafficking ring.
According to Brehm, investigators travelled to Romania in the hunt for the nucleus of the operations.
On the trip, a number of suspects were questioned and search warrants carried out, resulting in six men being arrested and remanded in custody.
Prosecutors plan to present formal charges against the men during a press conference on Wednesday.
Almost all of the women connected to the reported sex cases in Gothenburg are 18-years-old or older and are connected to the Romania-based ring.
The women then performed sex acts for money in playgrounds, cemeteries and parking garages around the city, according to TT.
Exactly how many women were selling sex on the streets in Sweden remains unclear, however.
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According to prosecutors, the trafficking ring is one of the largest of its kind ever uncovered in Sweden.
”There are many people involved who pulled in large amounts from this criminal activity,” said prosecutor Thomas Eliasson in a statement.
Last year in Gothenburg, 255 men were reported and fined for buying sex, a number which led local police to crackdown on the crime.
“This is quite a lot and it is really thanks to the local police in the city who have actively fought against this. An operation with a focus on the crime. You can’t do several small samples from time to time, because then you can’t report 255 men in one year,” Ulla Brehm of the Västra Götaland police told the TT news agency.
Further investigation led police to the discovery of the Romania-linked trafficking ring.
According to Brehm, investigators travelled to Romania in the hunt for the nucleus of the operations.
On the trip, a number of suspects were questioned and search warrants carried out, resulting in six men being arrested and remanded in custody.
Prosecutors plan to present formal charges against the men during a press conference on Wednesday.
Almost all of the women connected to the reported sex cases in Gothenburg are 18-years-old or older and are connected to the Romania-based ring.
The women then performed sex acts for money in playgrounds, cemeteries and parking garages around the city, according to TT.
Exactly how many women were selling sex on the streets in Sweden remains unclear, however.
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