Guilty, sex slavery gang who sold girl outside Primark for £10,000
‘Callous and uncaring’
A SEX-TRAFFICKING gang was yesterday convicted of bringing women to Scotland from Slovakia and forcing them into slavery and prostitution.
One victim was sold for £10,000 outside a branch of Primark, the High Court in Glasgow heard.
Vojtech Gombar, 61, Anil Wagle, 37, Jana Sandorova, 28, and Ratislav Adam, 31, were all found guilty of involvement in forcing women into prostitution and servitude between November 2011 and February 2017.
The gang arranged for eight women to be transported to Glasgow’s Govanhill area.
Five of them were brought here for arranged marriages to Pakistani men, with others forced into prostitution.
One was turned back at Calais by UK Border Force officers.
Another told a jury she had been ‘bought’ outside Primark on Glasgow’s Argyle Street.
Lord Beckett, who remanded all four pending sentencing, praised the Slovakian authorities.
He said: ‘Without the invaluable international co-operation, this trial could not have taken place.
‘Their efforts have allowed justice to be done in relation to very serious and damaging criminal conduct.’
Gombar was found guilty of 13 charges involving eight women, while Wagle was convicted of four charges, mainly involving one of the victims.
Sandorova was found guilty of six charges against two women and Adam was convicted of seven charges involving three of them.
Prosecutor Kath Harper said: ‘Vojtech Gombar shows a clear, compelling and powerful pattern of behaviour in recruiting, transporting and exploiting women. He exploited them by forcing them into marriage with virtual strangers from which he benefited financially, and/or forcing them into prostitution, from which he and associates benefited.’
The court heard that one of the victims was forced to have sex with two or three Pakistani men a day for at least eight months.
Miss Harper said: ‘Her autonomy was completely stripped from her and her body became nothing but a vehicle for Gombar and others to make money.
‘It is perhaps hard to imagine a more callous and uncaring way to treat another human being.’
Sandorova is Gombar’s stepdaughter and Adam is her partner. Wagle, who is from Nepal, became involved with the gang initially because he wanted to buy a bride. Miss Harper said: ‘Adam was acting along with Gombar in controlling one woman and keeping her in servitude, if not slavery.
‘He sold a woman in the city centre of Glasgow, along with Jana Sandorova, to Anil Wagle.’
Detective Inspector Steven McMillan said: ‘This has been a complex and challenging international investigation.
‘One of the greatest challenges we faced was when the decision was taken to prosecute in both Scotland and Slovakia.
‘We had to ensure two jurisdictions that didn’t naturally fit worked together to ensure a successful outcome for these women. We’ve got that today.’
Detective Superintendent Fil Capaldi, head of Police Scotland’s National Human Trafficking Unit, said: ‘This group exploited vulnerable women using violence, threats and false promises, all for financial gain, without a single thought for the suffering and terror that these women had to endure.
‘Yet those women bravely spoke out in Scotland and Slovakia. I hope today’s verdict provides closure, so they can now move on in some way and rebuild their lives.’
Georgios Raskos, head of Europol’s Analysis Project on Human Trafficking, said: ‘Trafficking in humans has for too long been perceived as a high-profit, low-risk activity. This perception has to change. Europol and its partners are determined to bring to justice criminals who think they can exploit people.’