Notorious pimp has penchant for violence
The 47 year old has been involved in brothels in several counties both north and south of the border for a number of years. He even advertises his services on popular escort/prostitution websites.
The man’s empire is large and his ex-wife, his son, daughter and his new wife help him control his operations. People who have encountered those family members say they are as ruthless as he is.
The four people are well known among those involved in the sex industry as having a penchant for violence.
One source said the man and his associates regularly telephone independent prostitutes and brothels liable to offer competition or call to them armed with knives. These rivals are told they have to either leave the area or stop operating or will face dire consequences.
However, their violence towards rivals pales into insignificance when compared with what happens to the women they control.
One senior garda, who has had years of experience investigating the sex industry, told the Irish Examiner: “Of all the brothel raids carried out by gardaí, his was the only one where we heard the women were being raped and beaten up.”
Within hours of it emerging that midland pimps had been arrested in residences, businesses and brothels in Carlow and nine other locations, escort websites were inundated with comments from prostitutes detailing how they had been threatened in those areas.
“For anyone out there, especially other escorts that have been targeted and threatened by a crowd in Athlone, Longford, Mullingar and other counties, then you will all know that these threats come back to the same people time and time again,” wrote one contributor.
Another responded: “Lol (sic) that’s so funny, I should have known something was on the cards. I reported threats I received yesterday and thought the garda seemed way more interested in the fine details than they did last time I reported threats.”
The operation to track the brothel operators began several months ago and involved police forces in the north and in Britain. It had been triggered by the findings of Operation Pentameter 2, the worldwide investigation into human trafficking for sexual exploitation being run by police in Britain and the north.
It is believed the Police Service of Northern Ireland was a driving force in yesterday’s arrests. It has been studying information on the sex trade south of the border for several months, as part of their overall assessment of the movement of non-nationals into the sex trade on this island.
There have been a number of arrests and prosecutions for human trafficking in the north over the last few weeks and it has emerged in several cases that the women were destined for the sex industry in the south.
This operation marks the first significant illegal sex industry crackdown outside Dublin — despite the fact interest groups have been lobbying the authorities for years to extend the Dublin-based vice operation Quest beyond the capital.
While there is certainly a high concentration of women working as prostitutes in Dublin, hundreds more are operating in towns and cities around the country charging up to €300 an hour for sex.
Many hundreds of thousands of euro are then demanded from them by the pimps who have either trafficked them into the country or who have persuaded them to work for them.
It also makes clear that frequent denials of the scale of the problem by the Government and gardaí are simply not tenable. The PSNI has been unequivocal about the levels of trafficking it has found in the last few months alone on both sides of the border.
“The police service believes it has identified at least eight women who were trafficked into Ireland (north and south) and then forced into prostitution.
“Seven of these victims were rescued from brothels, four by direct police action. These victims are vulnerable females who have been trafficked mostly from non-EU countries,” it said.
A spokesperson for Ruhama, the organisation which works with prostitutes here, said: “We welcome this police operation. Any action which helps to protect and rescue women is a positive development in combating this serious crime.
“This police operation also sends out a clear message to these devious criminals that the security services are aware of them and take action, this signals a warning to other criminals involved and this is welcomed.
“While no one knows the full extent of the sex trafficking problem, we have been aware of the a growing sex trafficking problem in Ireland over the last decade, with more and more victims located in prostitution outside of the main urban regions.
“The location of the Garda raids today is more evidence that prostitution is well and truly a nationwide crime.
“Ruhama has been able to assist up to 200 victims of sex trafficking over the last 8 years providing them with safe accommodation, medical, social and legal assistance. We are concerned there maybe more women out there needing assistance and we would encourage them to contact us confidentially on 01-836 02 92 or help@ruhama.ie.”
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
