Three men have been given prison sentences totalling more than 13 years for running a prostitution ring that exploited 16 vulnerable women. A woman who helped them run it has been spared jail.
George Filip, Leonard Banica and Alexandru Moco brought the women into the UK to work as sex workers. They then moved them around Newport, Birmingham and Scotland to avoid drawing attention. Ionela Filip also helped run the operation, and the group profited from the women’s exploitation.
All four admitted multiple offences and were sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court on Friday 30 October.
The sentences
George Filip, 45, of no fixed address, got the longest term: eight years and two months. He pleaded guilty to:
- Four counts of conspiracy to traffic
- Three counts of conspiracy to control prostitution for gain
- Trafficking another person into the United Kingdom for sexual exploitation
- Two counts of transferring criminal property
- Removing criminal property from England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland
Leonard Banica, 41, from Romania, was jailed for three years and nine months after admitting:
- Three counts of conspiracy to control prostitution for gain
- Conspiracy to traffic
- Two counts of transferring criminal property
Alexandru Moco, of Friary Road in Birmingham, was jailed for 15 months for:
- Conspiracy to control prostitution for gain
- Conspiracy to traffic
- Being concerned in an arrangement which facilitates the acquisition, retention, use or control of criminal property by another
Ionela Filip, of Waterloo Road in Smethwick, got a suspended sentence. She had admitted:
- Three counts of conspiracy to control prostitution for gain
- Two counts of transferring criminal property
- Removing criminal property from England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland
How the investigation unfolded
Gwent Police started the inquiry in 2020 after reports of suspicious behaviour at properties in Newport. Detective Superintendent Robin Fuller, the senior investigating officer, said:
“This was a complex investigation that involved meticulous enquiries, evidence gathering and partnership working in an effort to prosecute this group of people.
“Officers disrupted their criminal business in 2020 when warrants were executed at a number of locations in Newport leading to arrests.”
Brought back to face justice
Three of the men left the UK while the investigation was going on. Det Supt Fuller said:
“During the investigation three of the offenders George Filip, Leonard Banica, and Alex Moco all fled the country to try and evade justice.
“However, we worked with our criminal justice partners internationally to bring them back to be held accountable for their crimes.”
The money and the guilty pleas
On the money behind the operation and how the case ended, he added:
“The examination of bank accounts showed the group was making huge amounts of cash from the illegal business they’d been running since 2015.
“All initially denied being involved in any criminal activity but with the strength of evidence that we were able to present they pleaded guilty to various offences.”
