Immigration Solicitors

A gang responsible for trafficking 50 women into the UK to work as prostitutes has been convicted of conspiring to traffic people into the UK for sexual exploitation.

The four men from Hungary and a British woman who is a former girlfriend of one of the men were convicted at Hove Crown Court over charges relating to more than 60 incidents of people trafficking.

Mate Puskas and his former girlfriend Victoria Brown – along with Zoltan Mohacsi, Istvan Toth and Peter Toth – ran their trafficking operation from a café in Croydon, where they uploaded the girls’ details online before trafficking them into the UK.

Istvan and Peter Toth were convicted in their absence.

The five denied the charges but were convicted under Section 1(1) of the Criminal Law Act 1977.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the police in the UK worked with their police counterparts in Hungary to bring about the prosecution – and prosecutors paid tribute to the women who had been trafficked by the gang for having the bravery to give evidence against them.

Acting chief crown prosecutor for southeast England, Portia Ragneuth, said:

“We know how incredibly difficult it was for them – especially as we know that the reach of this criminal group extends back to Hungary.

“It has not been easy for them, but we hope that today's verdict brings them justice and allows them to now move on with their lives.”

Evidence was given by two of the women via a video-link from Hungary, while another woman gave her evidence from behind a screen at Hove Crown Court.

The women had come to the UK mainly to avoid poverty in their own country – and in many cases, the gang members had paid for their flights to the UK. The debt was used to force the women into working as prostitutes for up to 12 hours a day, the court heard.

“When the women told the group they did not want to work as prostitutes, threats would be made against them and their families back in Hungary.

“Threats were also made to expose the work they had been doing in the UK in their home country,” Ms Ragneuth told the court.

The gang put the women up in accommodation at Sussex University, the court heard – while others lived in hotels near Gatwick and seaside towns such as Margate, Folkestone and Eastbourne.

Staff at the Gatwick hotels became suspicious when they found waste bins overflowing with lavatory paper and used condoms – and reported hearing “muffled bangings” coming from the girls’ rooms.

The CPS has said it is preparing an action plan to tackle cases of human trafficking in the UK in cooperation with other law enforcement agencies.

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