Two appear in court over NI human trafficking operation

Two men have appeared before Belfast High Court charged with a range of offences linked to human trafficking.

It follows a police investigation into a young, vulnerable woman trafficked from Romania for sex work in Northern Ireland.

Florin Ripan, 52, with an address in Hill Street in Ballymena and Ionut Duta, 27, of Chichester Park East, Ballymena, are among four Romanian nationals charged with controlling prostitution for gain, along with acquiring, using and concealing criminal property.

Both defendants deny the charges against them.

The prosecution also claimed that one of the men had more than £100,000 of unexplained funds in his bank account.

Details of the case were revealed during a bail hearing on Wednesday.

Detectives from the Police Service for Northern Ireland's (PSNI) Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking team launched an investigation earlier this year following contact with a vulnerable 22-year-old Romanian woman.

“Police believe she was a victim trafficked by an organised crime gang in June 2023 and put to work in the sex trade,” the court heard.

The court heard she travelled to Dublin before being taken to an address in Omagh, County Tyrone.

Isolated and with limited English, the woman’s only associates were said to be alleged members of the organised gang.

She is believed to have been put to work at locations in both Omagh and Ballymena.

An adult website was set up advertising sexual services in return for cash payments, according to the prosecution case.

Bank accounts opened in the name of either the alleged victim or some of the accused also form part of the investigation.

Mr Justice Scoffield was told telecommunications data allegedly identified all of the accused as being involved in taking the victim to one of the addresses for sex work.

She is currently staying at a secure, undisclosed location.

Prosecutors also claimed Florin Ripan amassed more than £100,000 in unexplained bank account funds as part of the investigation.

Despite the earnings from Ripan’s poultry job, it was claimed that the scale of his balance could not be accounted for.

“The police officer told me there is £108,000 outstanding between his legitimate income and turnover,” counsel said.

Opposing applications for bail, the prosecution confirmed police are still actively pursuing other suspects.

Defence barrister Peter Coiley told the court that Mr Ripan has lived in Northern Ireland for seven years and initially indicated that his client’s job was still available.

But following further checks, the court was told a decision has been taken to terminate his employment.

“This has come as a shock to Mr Ripan,” the barrister added.

Adjourning his bail application, the judge indicated it would allow more time to obtain "clarity about his employment prospects”.

However, he ruled today that Mr Duta is to be released from custody - he was granted bail under a strict prohibition on communicating with any witnesses in the case.

The judge said: “The sum of money passing through his account was not the most significant.

“More importantly, he knows he will be under close police observation, which mitigates the risk of re-offending.”