Ring Leader Jailed for 8 Years Over Trafficking of Romanian Women
The man described as the "architect and organiser" of a group that trafficked Romanian women into the UK has been sentenced to eight years and two months in prison. George Filip, 45, was sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court.
Filip led an organised crime group responsible for the "prostitution" of at least 16 victims, earning hundreds of thousands of pounds, the court heard. His wife, Ionela Filip, 35, helped him bring the women to work in locations across Wales, England and Scotland. Alexandru Moco, 27, and Leonard Banica, 41, were also part of the conspiracy.
Judge Francis called it a "substantial and sophisticated criminal enterprise that operated over seven years".
What the court heard
Between June 2015 and October 2022, at least 16 identifiable victims were brought to the UK from Romania and France to work in the sex industry. Prosecutor Matthew Cobbe said the operation was of a "significant scale". Women worked in Cwmbran, Hereford, a location near Alton Towers, Stoke-on-Trent, Aberdeen and Inverness.
The court was told the women had not been brought under duress. Cobbe said, however, that George Filip had "plainly exploited the circumstances of these victims". There was "no suggestion of sexual violence", he said, but there were "very many customers".
The judge said some of the women had been "pressured to commit sexual acts they had not agreed to which had caused them considerable distress". She added that "exploitation may exist even when there is an apparent degree of consent".
Ionela Filip took photographs of the women in "suitably provocative poses", Cobbe said. They were often posted on websites within 24 hours of the women entering the UK. The business was run from a mobile phone.
Police examined that phone after raiding a property in Newport in January 2020. It was being used for sex work following complaints from neighbours. Its contents showed the scale of the operation, which was described as "a very busy operation on a national level".
The sentences
- George Filip, of no fixed abode: eight years and two months. The judge told him he was "plainly the most responsible offender". He will serve up to half in custody and then be deported.
- Ionela Filip, of Waterloo Road, Smethwick: a three-year suspended sentence. The judge called her "a senior trusted manager rather than a person who exercised total control".
- Leonard Banica, from Romania: three years and nine months, then deportation.
- Alexandru Moco, of Friary Road, Birmingham: one year and three months. He is likely to be released immediately and deported.
Moco is Ionela's younger brother. The judge described Banica and Moco as having lesser roles. George Filip, Banica and Moco fled the UK, while Ionela kept running the operation in Scotland for two years. All three were rearrested on their return.
Det Supt Robin Fuller, the senior investigating officer, said officers worked with justice partners abroad to bring the fugitives back. He said bank accounts showed the group was making huge amounts of cash. All of them initially denied involvement and later pleaded guilty to various offences.
A proceeds of crime hearing is due in 2027. Louisa Robertson of the Crown Prosecution Service said the group ran a trafficking operation, exploiting women from other European countries.
Source: BBC News