KOSOVO: POLICE RAID UNCOVERS FIVE TRAFFICKING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PRISTINA 000071 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR, EUR/SCE, DRL, INL, AND G/TIP, NSC FOR BRAUN, USUN FOR DREW SCHUFLETOWSKI, USOSCE FOR STEVE STEGER, OPDAT FOR ACKER E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/14/2018 TAGS: PGOV KJUS KCRM EAID KDEM UNMIK KV SUBJECT: KOSOVO: POLICE RAID UNCOVERS FIVE TRAFFICKING VICTIMS AND LANDS REGIONAL KINGPIN IN JAIL Classified By: COM TINA KAIDANOW FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Following an eight-month long Kosovo Special Prosecutors Office (KSPO) and Kosovo Police Service (KPS) Trafficking in Human Beings Section (THBS) investigation into trafficking rings in Gjakova, police raided six sites connected to Lulzim Thaqi and his uncle Sadik Thaqi on January 31. Lulzim Thaqi is believed to be a regional kingpin and evidence indicates that his ring not only traffics women from Moldova and forces them into prostitution, but also lends money and women to other traffickers in Gjakova. Police arrested six during the operation, including the two Thaqis and a Moldovan woman believed to be a recruiter or madam. They also rescued five Moldovan victims. KSPO Special Prosecutor Raze Loshaj and her staff worked almost around the clock for two days to prepare for the subsequent detention hearing. She managed to secure detention on remand for the Pitaqis and the Moldovan woman, but the other three were released pending the trial. The raid comes on the heels of a groundbreaking indictment against another Gjakova trafficking ring, which was the first ever in Kosovo to charge a client, to charge Moldovan women as recruiters, and to include money laundering in a human trafficking case. It demonstrates that the KSPO and KPS THBS are maturing and taking a more strategic approach to combating trafficking in persons. It may also deal a powerful blow to trafficking in Gjakova and disrupt the flow of Moldovan victims to Kosovo. END SUMMARY Police raid uncovers five trafficking victims and snares regional kingpin ¶2. (C) On January 31, the Kosovo Police Service (KPS) Trafficking in Human Beings Section (THBS) raided six sites in Gjakova related to a trafficking ring run by regional kingpin Lulzim Thaqi and his uncle, Sadik Thaqi. The sites were: the Club Makuba, an apartment above the Club Makuba, Lulzim Thaqi,s home, the Western Union branch owned by Ali Xerxa, the Hotel Amsterdam and the Hotel Adora. During the operation, police detained fifteen people and eventually arrested six: Club Makuba owner Lulzim Thaqi, Sadik Thaqi, Club Makuba employee Hasan Zeqiri, ex-Club Makuba employee Sqiprim Uka, Ali Xerxa, and Viorica Prunici, a 26-year-old Moldovan woman believed to be a recruiter or madam. Police also rescued five trafficking victims, all Moldovan females between the ages of 21 and 27. The women were with clients at the time, and one client confessed to having paid 100 euros for the night. KPS THBS offered to place the women in a local shelter, but they refused. Since Kosovo law requires that females over the age of 18 voluntarily consent to being placed in a shelter, police had to let them go. ¶3. (C) The raid was the culmination of an eight-month long Kosovo Special Prosecutors Office (KSPO) and the KPS THBS investigation into trafficking rings in the Gjakova area. It falls on the heels of a groundbreaking indictment filed by KSPO Special Prosecutor Raze Loshaj in January against the Gjakova-based Pitaqi ring on January 2 (see reftel). That indictment, on which USOP's RLA embedded in the KSPO priveded mentoring and advice, was the first ever in Kosovo to charge a client, to charge Moldovan women as recruiters, and to include money laundering in a human trafficking case. According to Loshaj (protect),who will also prosecute the Thaqi ring, the eventual Thaqi ring indictment will look very similar to the Pitaqi ring indictment. She hopes that she can successfully prosecute the case against the Thaqis, and thus deal a strong blow to trafficking and money laundering in Gjakova. Evidence obtained through photo surveillance and covert monitoring of wire transfers and text messages indicates that the Thaqi ring not only traffics women from Moldova and forces them into prostitution, but also lends money and women to other traffickers in Gjakova (see reftel). Note: Xerxha operates a Western Union franchise, which received the Western Union Franchise of the Year award for Kosovo; according to Kosovo's Financial Intelligence Center (FIC),it has 12 times as many money transfers as the other PRISTINA 00000071 002 OF 002 17 franchises in Gjakova. End note. Three receive detention on remand ¶4. (C) On February 2, International Judge Dennis Luedke presided over an unusual eight-hour long detention hearing to determine whether to hold the six Thaqi ring suspects on detention on remand, a pre-indictment detention common in Eastern Europe. Loshaj and her staff worked almost around the clock for two days alongside the USOP RLA embedded in the KSPO and UNMIK International Prosecutor Carolyn Henneman to prepare for the detention hearing. Despite being intimidated by the international judge and the Thaqis' highly paid attorneys, Loshaj presented strong evidence against the ring and managed to secure pre-trial detention for the two Thaqis and Prunici. Judge Luedke released the other three pending trial, arguing that they were not a flight risk and that Loshaj had presented insufficient evidence against them. During the detention hearing, the Thaqis, lawyers reportedly approached the policemen in the courtroom and asked how much money it would take to keep their clients out of jail, intimating that money was no object. Club Makuba re-opens under a new name ¶5. The KSPO learned on February 11 that Ded Todaj, who has ties to other Gjakova trafficking clubs, re-opened the Club Makuba under a different name and has reportedly been seen with Club Makuba employee Hasan Zeqiri. KPS THBS believe the same girls are working in the club and that Lulzim Thaqi is continuing to run the business from jail. KPS THBS has the bar under surveillance, and the KSPO hopes to close it down again soon. (Note: Traffickers reopening their bars shortly after police close them is an unfortunate trend in Kosovo. KPS THBS officers often complain about trafficking bars closing down for a few days after a raid and then reopening under a different name in the same location and using the same women. End Note.) ¶6. COMMENT: The Thaqi ring arrests and earlier Pitaqi indictment demonstrate that the KSPO and KPS THBS are maturing and beginning to take a more strategic approach to battling trafficking in persons. If the KSPO can successfully prosecute the Thaqi and Pitaqi rings, they will deal a serious blow to human trafficking in Gjakova and may help disrupt the flow of Moldovan victims to Kosovo. They may also shut down a serious element of money laundering in the region. USOP will continue to monitor these important cases; it will also continue to work closely with the KSPO and KPS THBS to strengthen their capacity. END COMMENT. KAIDANOW