Romanian gang considered Amsterdam sex workers their property; Exploited dozens of women
The seven Romanian men arrested in Amsterdam and Romania earlier this month exploited dozens of sex workers in the Red Light District on a large scale for years, the police said on Friday. According to investigators, the men considered a part of the Red Light District and the women working there to be their property. Using deception, threats, and violence, they deprived victims of a significant portion of their income, the police said. The police are still in the process of identifying victims.
On July 14, the police raided multiple addresses in Amsterdam’s Red Light District and arrested four men. At the same time, the Romanian police arrested three more suspects. They are all Romanian nationals and between the ages of 34 and 45.
The police launched this investigation early this year following anonymous tips and reports about possible abuse in the window brothels in the Red Light District. “This brought a group of Romanian men into focus who appeared to regard a specific area of the Red Light District as their property,” the police said.
Among other things, they charged sex workers who wanted to work in this area to pay a substantial sum to them weekly. “There was no reciprocal service in exchange for this payment; it was merely a condition imposed by the group of men to be allowed to work in the area at all.” Sex workers who failed to pay were threatened.
The men also considered the sex workers working in “their” area to be their property. These women are typically Romanian women whom the men persuaded to come work in Amsterdam. “The police’s assessment is that the men made false promises regarding better income and working conditions as sex workers in the Red Light District.”
Once in Amsterdam, many of the women did earn a lot of money in the window brothels, but they had to surrender the vast majority of their earnings to the men. The men also determined where the women lived, and they had to pay rent to the men. “Investigators strongly suspect that the women were forced to do what the men wanted through intimidation, threats and violence.”
The men also monitored their victims closely. Investigators observed the men walking in a group and giving intimidating instructions to the women on how to perform their work.
“Additionally, in many cases, the men were in a relationship with the victims and, in some cases, had a child together,” the police said. “This created an additional dependency that was used to manipulate and pressure the women.”
None of the suspects who emerged in the investigation appeared to have paid work themselves, but they lived lavishly off the income of their victims. “While the women were working behind the window, the men spent the money on the terrace, on drugs and impulses, expensive clothing, and in the casino,” the police said.
Three suspects arrested in the Netherlands have been remanded into custody. One suspect arrested in Romania has been extradited to the Netherlands, and a second is in custody awaiting extradition. The third man arrested in Romania remains a suspect in the investigation, but will not be extradited.
The men are suspected of human trafficking and participation in a criminal organization. More arrests may follow, the police said.
The police have identified dozens of victims and are still in the process of finding more. Among other things, the police distributed a video among sex workers in which a victim explains in Romanian that being a sex worker is not a crime, but exploitation is, and how to seek help.
“With this video, the detectives hope to reach as many sex workers as possible to gain a clear picture of the situation and make contact,” the police said, urging victims to come forward.
