Couple who made £70k by trafficking sex workers jailed after police investigate Swindon address

The conviction of Cristian Simion and Mihaela Borcos under the Modern Slavery Act is the first case of its kind for Wiltshire Police.

North Wales Police alerted Wiltshire officers to the couple's crimes after speaking to a sex worker at a hotel in Wrexham who said she had been put to work by an organised crime group in Swindon.

Intelligence enquiries quickly led to an address in Grantham Close and the two Romanian nationals' suspicious activities.

A complex police investigation which lasted three-and-a-half years followed this discovery. Wiltshire Police trawled through financial records, worked with other police forces across the country, examined digital devices and computers seized from the Freshbrook address during a warrant, and took statements from potential witnesses.

Their work revealed that Simion and Borcos were running a highly-organised operation using vulnerable women - usually women from Romania who could not speak English and had no way of securing legal work in the UK.

The couple would upload profiles of the women onto adult websites and then move them around the country to carry out sex work. The pair would then took a large cut of the money these women earned.

Financial records show that between April 2016 and August 2017 Simion made around £60,000 from his operation, while Borcos banked approximately £10,000.

In September last year, the investigation team finally had the evidence they needed and the duo were charged.

Simion and Borcos stood trial back in July and appeared at Salisbury Crown Court yesterday for sentencing.

Simion, 29, now living in Grays, in Essex, was found guilty of one count of human trafficking and two counts of money laundering, received a jail sentence of two years and five months.

Borcos, 25, also living in Grays, in Essex, was found guilty of one count of human trafficking and one count of money laundering, and received a jail sentence of two years and two months.

Detective Constable Nick Bishop, from Wiltshire Police, said: “We carried out a lengthy and complex investigation, using various tactics to gather the evidence we needed to prove that Simion and Borcos were trafficking vulnerable women and profiting from their misery.

“They exploited these women, many of whom could not speak English and were unable to find legal work in this country, with little or no regard for their welfare or wellbeing.

“This case shows that human trafficking and modern slavery are very real crimes, with very real victims, and we will work hard to ensure that those responsible are brought to justice.”

Detective Chief Inspector Phil Walker, who leads Wiltshire Police’s work on tackling human trafficking and modern slavery, said: “These types of offences are very often hidden crimes, but we are working hard to raise awareness about them and the damage that is done to those who are exploited.

“We aim to not only identify and convict offenders, but also protect the victims – such as the vulnerable women in this case – so they have the support they need to deal with what has happened to them.

“But, this is not something the police can do alone. We need our communities to be our eyes and our ears, reporting suspicious activities or circumstances to us so we can investigate.

“If you suspect that someone you know is being exploited, or you have concerns about a business or individual you believe may be involved in modern slavery or trafficking, then please report this to us.

“Similarly, if you yourself are a victim of this type of offence, then please be reassured that help is out there.”

Police urge people in Wiltshire to learn more about modern slavery so that they can recognise possible signs of the crime happening in their communities and report them to police.

Visit www.wiltshire.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/ms/human-trafficking/ or call the Modern Slavery Helpline confidentially on 08000 121700, which is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.