Official Despescu: 11 organised groups specialised in labour exploitation, sexual assult closed down

Secretary of State with the Interior Ministry (MAI) police quaestor Bogdan Despescu announced on Friday that since taking over the current leadership of the MAI, a number of 11 organised groups specialised in cases of sexual assault and labour exploitation were closed down, with 79 persons being detained.

"Since the beginning of the mandate of the current leadership team of the Ministry, we have shown a constant concern for combating human trafficking. (...) The specialized structures of the Interior Ministry carried out, together with the DIICOT [Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism] prosecutors and in their own criminal investigation cases, over 50 operative actions, of which 24 were large-scale. A number of 11 organised groups were closed down, and 79 people were detained. These cases have induced complex documentation that has resulted in the dismantling of specialized networks in both sexual assault and labor exploitation. Such actions will continue with even greater intensity," Despescu told a joint press statement with Interior Minister Marcel Vela, US Ambassador Adrian Zuckerman, Justice Minister Catalin Predoiu and Prosecutor General Gabriela Scutea.

He said that in order to increase the capacity to retaliate against human traffickers, the ministry has reached an agreement with partners in the United States for technical support in identifying these types of crimes.

"Moreover, since the beginning of the year and until now, the National Agency Against Trafficking in Persons has carried out 13 prevention campaigns. During these campaigns, more than 1,000 preventive IT activities were carried out, totaling approximately 65,000 beneficiaries. Also, the posts with anti-traffic messages and useful recommendations made on the Agency's Facebook page had an impact of over 1.5 million people," Despescu added.