Sex trafficking gang bosses to face charges

Charges are expected to be brought against the bosses of an international sex trafficking gang arrested in Ireland last month.

Justice Minister Alan Shatter said “central figures” in the operation are likely to be brought before the courts.

Three people — two men and a woman — were detained by gardaí following a Europe-wide investigation into human trafficking and organised prostitution.

The arrests of the three, all Polish nationals, were part of Operation Quest, the Garda’s dedicated investigation against brothel keeping and organised prostitution.

Detectives from Operation Quest liaised with a range of policing bodies in January’s investigation, including Europol, Interpol, the PSNI, the Serious Organised Crime Agency in England, and the Human Trafficking Centre Central Investigations Bureau in Warsaw, Poland.

The arrests were part of a swoop three week ago in which eight premises were raided — five in Dublin, two in Dublin and one in Athlone.

Two men, aged 29 and 34, and a woman, aged 33, were arrested. Mobile phones, electronic devices, and documentation were confiscated for examination.

The man arrested in Athlone was subsequently released without charge.

The other two people were detained under the Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act 2007, which is anti-organised crime legislation allowing for up to seven days’ detention.

Mr Shatter told the Dáil that the three people were held on suspicion of human trafficking and organised prostitution.

“A file is currently being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions in relation to this matter and a number of charges are envisaged against central figures within this criminal group.”

Operation Quest was established in 2003 and is the closest thing the force has to a vice unit.

The operation has been expanded over the years and now has liaison officers in each Garda division within the Dublin Metropolitan Region and other regions.

A detective superintendent in the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation has the national remit as the point of contact for investigating such criminality.

Mr Shatter told Nicky McFadden TD that the operation maintained strong links with foreign police forces and worked with government agencies and non-governmental organisations who work in this area.

He said organised prostitution and brothel keeping was a cross-border issue in Ireland and that gardaí worked closely with the PSNI.

Last May, as part of Operation Quest, gardaí conducted 110 searches while the PSNI carried out 20 raids in the North.