Searches in Romania, UK to catch procurers using "loverboy" method

The Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) prosecutors conducted 23 searches in Ilfov, Calarasi and Caras-Severin counties as part of a crackdown on a group that sexually exploited young women in Scotland using the "loverboy" method.

At the same time, 9 searches were carried out in the United Kingdom to catch members of this group.

According to DIICOT, starting with 2009, an organized criminal group of 28 people was set up in Bucharest and Ilfov, who carried out activities to recruit minor girls from disadvantaged backgrounds, low-income or disorganized families, who, attracted by the opulent lifestyle of the members of the group and the promises made by them, came to be exploited in Romania, so that after reaching the age of 18, to be sexually exploited in countries such as Ireland, Great Britain, Scotland and Germany.

There have also been situations in which victims have been transferred to European Union countries since they were minors, under false identity documents.

For an integrated approach to this cross-border investigation and to streamline the exchange of evidence on suspects, law enforcement authorities in Romania and the United Kingdom signed in February 2019 an agreement to establish a Joint Investigation Team (JIT).

The documentation of the criminal activity, as well as the international judicial cooperation were carried out with the support of Eurojust, Police Scotland - National Human Trafficking Unit, Europol and of the Internal Affairs Attaché of the Interior Ministry within the Romanian Embassy in London.

At the DIICOT - Central Structure headquarters, 14 people were brought for questioning, and another 3 people suspected of belonging to the group and 7 accomplices with criminal activity in Great Britain were detained by the British authorities.