Man jailed for controlling prostitution

Monday, 31 July 2017 07:00

A man has been jailed after police dismantled a prostitution ring in South Manchester.

Alexe Popa, 30, of East Grove, Longsight, was sentenced at Manchester Crown Court after pleading guilty to controlling prostitution for gain and possession of false documents.

He has been jailed for one year and nine months.

In July 2016, following reports of a potential ‘pop-up’ brothel, a harm reduction visit was conducted by police and immigration officials at a flat on Willesden Avenue, Longsight.

Two Romanian women were discovered inside the brothel and Popa later arrived at the property claiming he was just a friend.

Then in October 2016, as part of a human trafficking investigation into women believed to be selling sexual services across the UK, officers became aware of a number of adverts on adult websites that were linked to Manchester.

Following enquiries, it was found Popa had paid for and posted these adverts which promoted sex workers.

Further enquiries and warrants revealed that Popa was running a number of brothels with several women aged between 18 and 26 who had travelled to the UK from Romania.

As a result of the warrants, officers also recovered several women’s Romanian ID cards which Popa kept to discourage them from leaving, as well as mobile phones.

Analysis of a mobile phone led officers to discovering the further brothels in Rusholme.

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