Eleonora Vasileva, 33, Iliya Mihaylov, 31, and Marian Vasilev, 34, brought victims to the UK from Bulgaria , luring them into the sex trade with false promises of work and a better life. Once in Britain, the women were ferried from the airport in a Porsche to work as prostitutes in brothels in Woodford Green and Stratford. Snaresbrook crown court heard the women were threatened with violence if they refused to have sex with clients, and were ordered to pay stringent fines from their earnings if they stepped out of line.
When officers raided the home shared by Vasileva and Mihaylov, they recovered a pair of knuckledusters and an extendable baton. The trafficked women told Met detectives that they had been forced to supply cocaine to their customers, buy their own condoms, and were not given access to medical care. Ringleader Vasileva was responsible for recruiting the women in Bulgaria and arranging for them to fly to the UK, paying for the properties and advertising the prostitution services.
While this case was underpinned by the strong police operation and close working with Bulgarian authorities, these three individuals were convicted owing to the courage of the women coming forward. All three defendants denied charges but were found guilty after a trial of charges of human trafficking, controlling prostitution for gain and supplying cocaine.
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