Officers of the Security and Intelligence Service, Center for Combating Trafficking in Persons of the National Investigation Inspectorate, prosecutors of the General Prosecutor's Office and law enforcement bodies of Italy, in cooperation with EUROJUST and EUROPOL, during the current year, carried out a series of special investigation measures and annihilated a criminal group specialized in human trafficking for labor exploitation of women from the Republic of Moldova in Italy.
Members of the group, Moldovan and Italian citizens, using the vulnerability of the victims caused by their precarious social situation, recruited women from various regions of Moldova to work in Italy as “badanti” (migrant caregivers), promising them a salary of €600-700.
Arrived in Italy, the victims were met by the members of the criminal group, accommodated, and then their passports were seized, while they were transported to their workplaces in different localities and exploited through work as "badanti", without being paid the full promised salary. The victims were subjected to physical and mental violence, including threats of physical harm and forced prostitution.
During January-May of this year, the criminal group organized 16 trips between Italy and Moldova, despite travel restrictions in connection with the epidemiological situation in both countries.
The criminal proceedings were carried out using various special investigation measures, including mobile phone interception, online tracking – both GPS and visual, which helped to gather evidence and detain persons suspected of committing the described crimes.
On September 4, 2021, the law enforcement bodies of the Republic of Moldova, jointly with the Italian authorities, simultaneously conducted several searches on the territory of the Republic of Moldova and Italy, and therefore detained eight members of the criminal group.
During the searches, officers found and seized passports of the victims, forged employment contracts (French, German, Polish), fake COVID-19 vaccine certificates, computers and devices used for forgery of contracts and documents, money gained during the criminal activity, means of transport for victim transportation.
If they are found guilty, the detained persons risk a prison sentence of 7 to 15 years, according to the criminal law in force.
The joint Moldovan-Italian operation was also covered in the local Italian press.
