BAVARIAN TIP UPDATE: ARRESTS AND CONVICTIONS;

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MUNICH 000347

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR G/TIP, INL/HSTC, DRL/IL, PRM, G/IWI, EUR/PGI, AND
EUR/AGS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KCRM PHUM KWMN KJUS PGOV SMIG ELAB GM RO
SUBJECT: BAVARIAN TIP UPDATE: ARRESTS AND CONVICTIONS;
WORLD CUP

REF: A. BERLIN 1504


B. MUNICH 113

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SUMMARY
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1. (U) Bavarian police arrested two Romanians and one
German May 21 for trafficking in persons (TIP) and pimping
in Bavaria and Baden-Wuerttemberg. The arrests were the
result of a four-month police investigation launched on the
basis of evidence gathered during routine "controls" of
brothels in January 2006. A special police task force, "AG
STAR," was established to investigate the case. In a
separate case, a Munich court on June 1 sentenced three
other Romanians for TIP, pimping, and blackmailing. In a
June 7 press conference, Bavarian Interior Minister
Beckstein stated Bavaria was well prepared to counter TIP
during the World Cup and expected fewer incidents of
trafficking cases than media reports originally anticipated
or predicted. End Summary.

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THE ROMANIAN CONNECTION
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2. (U) According to police sources, Bavarian police
arrested two Romanian men for trafficking Romanian women,
mainly from the city of Sibiu, to Germany, where they were
allegedly forced into prostitution. Police say the women
were provided forged Spanish and Italian passports. The
suspects took the women's earnings, and physically
threatened them if they showed any resistance. Police also
arrested a third suspect, a German male, who allegedly
acted as a middleman, transferring women to other red light
districts in Germany.


3. (SBU) The head of the TIP Division of the Munich police
headquarters, Peter Schillinger, told the Consulate that
authorities first became suspicious when police
"controlled" (under Bavarian law, police can conduct
routine inspections of brothels without cause) a new
brothel on the east side of Munich on its opening night,
finding a woman with what seemed to be a forged Spanish
passport. Police ultimately determined the woman was a
Romanian citizen. Although she was willing to cooperate
with authorities by giving further information about the
traffickers, she told police she did not want to be
included in the witness protection program, preferring to
be returned to Romania instead.


4. (U) Following further investigation, police decided to
conduct targeted controls at select brothels in Munich,
Augsburg, and Ulm (on the border between Bavaria and Baden-
Wuerttemberg). The additional controls turned up two more
trafficked Romanian women who were allegedly forced to work
as prostitutes. Evidence obtained in the controls led
police to the three suspects.

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ARRESTS IN BAVARIA AND BADEN-WUERTTEMBERG
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5. (U) In a coordinated action May 18, police, armed with
search and arrest warrants, arrested all three suspects on
charges of TIP, pimping and blackmailing. The three men
were arrested separately in Weissenhorn, Bavaria; Laupheim,
Baden-Wuerttemberg; and Achstetten, Baden-Wuerttemberg.
Further investigation led Munich police to two more
Romanian prostitutes in Ulm, who had also been in contact
with the suspects. Police determined that at least the
younger of the two women appeared to also be a victim of
the trafficking. [NOTE: Although most of the arrests were
made in Baden-Wuerttemberg, the investigation and arrests
were conducted under the leadership of the Bavarian police,
with the cooperation of Baden-Wuerttemberg authorities.
END NOTE.]


6. (SBU) During the arrests, police seized several mobile
phones and other evidence. Authorities have set-up a
special task force called "AG STAR" to further investigate
the recent TIP arrests, and expect the task force to be
active for at least several more weeks. Schillinger told
the Consulate that prosecutors hope to expedite the case
through the legal system with the goal of going to court by
September or October of this year.


MUNICH 00000347 002 OF 002


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OTHER ROMANIANS CONVICTED OF TIP
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7. (U) In a separate case, a Munich court on June 1
sentenced three other Romanian men for TIP, pimping, and
blackmailing eight Romanian women they had lured to Germany
for prostitution. Most of the women were under 21 years of
age. The three traffickers had promised the women well-
paid jobs in Germany, then took their passports and housed
them in apartments they had rented. The traffickers
received sentences ranging from one-and-a-half years, to
five years, nine months in prison.

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BAVARIAN POLICE GIVEN BROAD LATITUDE
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8. (SBU) Schillinger stressed the Bavarian Interior
Ministry generally gives police greater latitude than their
counterparts are given in other German states. He said
police in other jurisdictions particularly envy the ability
of Bavarian police to "control" brothels without any legal
justification. [NOTE: Federal Interior and Family
Ministry officials report German police in other states
routinely use other legal grounds, ranging from noise
violations to the suspected presence of under-age
prostitutes, illegal migrants, or TIP victims, to monitor,
raid, and inspect brothels (ref A). END NOTE.]

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BECKSTEIN CONFIDENT TIP UNDER CONTROL
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9. (U) In a June 7 press conference, Bavarian Interior
Minister Guenther Beckstein said the police in Germany, and
particularly in Bavaria, were prepared for the World Cup to
an extent unprecedented in recent history. As far as TIP
was concerned, Beckstein said he expects the number of
forced prostitutes would likely stay well below media
estimates. Recent police controls in brothels and red
light areas had kept traffickers on the run. Additionally,
authorities had widely distributed TIP prevention pamphlets
in various Eastern European languages, and established help
hotlines that would be available 24/7 during the
championship.


10. (U) Previous reporting from Munich is available on our
SIPRNET website at www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/munich.


11. (U) This message was coordinated with Embassy Berlin
and Consulate General Frankfurt.

ROONEY