Mum and her partner ran ‘pop-up’ brothels
ROMANIAN PAIR OPERATED FOUR HOUSES WHERE EAST EUROPEAN PROSTITUTES WORKED
A ROMANIAN couple operated popup brothels in residential areas around south Manchester and employed Eastern European women as prostitutes, a court heard.
Alexe Popa and his former partner Gabriela Diac ran four such enterprises from rented premises in Rusholme, Levenshulme and Longsight, a Manchester Crown Court sentencing hearing heard.
Popa, 30, was the main organiser, and Diac, 28, acted as a ‘telephone receptionist’ for potential customers.
The court heard there has been an increase in ‘pop-up’ brothels in Greater Manchester. A property is used as a brothel for a short period, then shut down, and re-opens elsewhere.
Prosecuting, Hugh Barton said: “The main difference between these pop-up brothels is that they are unregulated and are not subject to the same scrutiny by the police as brothels commonly known.”
Police initially suspected there may have been human trafficking involved, but found no evidence of this or that the women, who were adults, were being coerced.
Officers submitted a data protection request to websites where adverts for prostitutes were posted.
The investigation linked the profiles of prostitutes on the sites, including women known as ‘Annabel’ and ‘Coco Chanel,’ to bank accounts, addresses and phone numbers operated by to Popa and Diac.
Potential customers would contact the online profiles and then be directed to the brothel by the defendants.
Police attended one of the brothels in Claremont Road, Rusholme, on February 22 and found a number of women, who were all dressed in nightwear.
They seized phones which were being used to field enquiries from potential customers, as well as a tenancy agreement in Popa’s name.
A house in Rawcliffe Street, Rusholme was also visited by police, where they found three females and obvious signs that it was being run as a brothel.
Other houses being used as brothels were found at Longden Road, Levenshulme, and in Willesden Avenue, Longsight.
Mr Barton said the couple, both of East Grove, Longsight, were operating the brothels for financial gain.
When Diac was arrested, she told police she moved to the Manchester in 2008, and became involved in a relationship with Popa in 2014.
Some of the women were found to be from the area in Romania where Popa is also from.
Initially Diac claimed she thought she was fielding messages from people who wanted companionship with Romanian women.
Diac pleaded guilty to controlling prostitution for gain. She submitted a ‘basis of plea,’ in which she said she took instructions from Popa and that her role was limited to passing on messages to prostitutes.
Defending, Erinnaz Mushtaq said Diac has two young daughters, and that she wants to ‘rebuild her life and make amends with her children.’
Diac was sentenced to a 12-month community order, and she must complete a 15-day rehabilitation activity requirement.
Popa, who has also pleaded guilty to controlling prostitution for gain as well as two counts of possessing false identity documents, was remanded in custody and will be sentenced later this month.