Adrian Vasile Popescu was arrested in Germany this year following an international arrest warrant
A 41-year old man who was extradited from Germany to Northern Ireland was handed a suspended sentence today (Tuesday) for a human trafficking charge.
Adrian Vasile Popescu had a 20-month sentence imposed which was suspended for two years by Judge Laura Ievers KC.
He admitted that in October 2017 he arranged or facilitated the travel of a female with a view to her being exploited.
Belfast Crown Court heard that the woman was trafficked to work as a prostitute in Belfast.
Popescu, a Romanian national with an address at Damascus Street in Belfast, was stopped in a car on the M1 on October 4, 2017.
The vehicle was travelling from Dublin airport to Belfast and contained three Romanian nationals – Popescu who was the front seat passenger, a male driver and a 30-year old female.
Police spoke to all three occupants and the female claimed she was visiting Belfast and her boyfriend was a friend of Popescu’s.
The same vehicle was stopped by police later that day as it dropped off the woman at an address on Eglantine Avenue in Belfast.
She was spoken to again and she said she has flown in from Amsterdam to spend time in Belfast and indicated she did not want police assistance.
The following morning, a police officer searched websites offering the services of prostitutes in Belfast and identified the same woman as being advertised under the pseudonym ‘Lola’.
Further police checks revealed that the adverts had been uploaded from an address in Belfast which, at the time, was occupied by the car’s driver and his girlfriend who was also working as a prostitute.
On January 9, 2018 police called at a house in Damascus Street to carry out a safeguard check on a female.
Popescu was present and identified himself as the female’s husband.
On June 30, 2018 police carried out a series of co-ordinated searches and by this stage it was believed Popescu had left the country.
A phone linked to another Romanian male was seized during the searches and when it was examined, a series of message on October 16, 2017 between him and Popescu were located on the device.
In the text conversation, Popescu asked the second male to ‘make an account’ for the 30-year old woman and also provided images of her which were the same pictures used on the website advertising the services of ‘Lola.’
Subsequent investigations revealed Popescu has transferred money out of Northern Ireland to Romanian.
Between August 9, 2017 and March 26, 2018 he transferred £4,570.60 and he transferred a further £165 on April 10, 2018.
An international arrest warrant was issued on March 28 of this year and Popescu was arrested in Germany on May 12.
He was extradited on June 24, was remanded into custody and when he appeared in court he pleaded guilty to one charge of human trafficking and two counts of transferring criminal property.
Noting Popescu has spent five months on remand, Judge Ievers said he had a clear criminal record.
Defence submissions made on his behalf set out how Popescu came to Northern Ireland shortly before the offences and fell in with other Romanians living locally.
After moving to Germany in 2018, Popescu has been in gainful employment and plans to return to Germany where his job remains open to him.
As she sentenced Popescu, Judge Ievers branded human trafficking as “appalling” and said “it must be stopped.”
The Judge said: “In this case, it has involved the sexual exploitation of a human being for financial gain, with no regard to the impact it would have on her.”
She added that there was “no direct contact or connection” between the offending linked to the woman and the money transferred by Popescu.
Judge Ievers imposed the 20-month sentence, which she suspended for two years, for the human trafficking charge and imposed concurrent six months sentences for both of the money laundering offences.
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