Bar owner remanded in trafficking case

A 55-YEAR-OLD Greek Cypriot pub owner was remanded in custody for five days by Larnaca District Court yesterday in connection with human trafficking, sexual exploitation of adults, pimping and exploitation of prostitutes.

The man, along with a 31-year-old Romanian were arrested on Thursday following a police raid on a pub.

According to police spokesman Michalis Katsounotos the 31-year-old was later released.

Katsounotos said that the pair were arrested in connection with alleged crimes committed between March and October 2011.

“The raid took place after a tip off given to the Crime Prevention Unit of Police Headquarters in Larnaca, that a citizen from an EU member state was arranging for women to come into Cyprus from a former Eastern block country, now in the EU,” said Katsounotos.

The premises was under surveillance by members of the police for the last few days and the spokesman said it seemed as if women were being brought in on a daily basis.

During the raid another five women were found from the same EU member state and taken to Larnaca police headquarters for further questioning. “Two of the women found were already at the Office for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings for personal interviews, in an effort to confirm to what extent they fulfill the criteria of victims of sexual exploitation and then for them to be placed under the care of state services,” said Katsounotos.

The women’s travel documents had also been confiscated by the suspect, police said, adding that they had been forced into prostitution either through cash incentives or under threat.

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