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| Men sentenced for sex trafficking | Men sentenced for sex trafficking |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Two men have been jailed for more than 12 years at Cardiff Crown Court for trafficking women for prostitution. | Two men have been jailed for more than 12 years at Cardiff Crown Court for trafficking women for prostitution. |
| Arjan Kanani, 22, and Erjon Javori, 32, both from Albania, were arrested in a police operation targeting women trafficked to work in the sex industry. | Arjan Kanani, 22, and Erjon Javori, 32, both from Albania, were arrested in a police operation targeting women trafficked to work in the sex industry. |
| Both admitted trafficking people. Javori, of Sheffield, was given seven years and Kanani, of Cardiff, five-and-a half years'. | Both admitted trafficking people. Javori, of Sheffield, was given seven years and Kanani, of Cardiff, five-and-a half years'. |
| The judge ordered that they be deported at the end of their sentence. | The judge ordered that they be deported at the end of their sentence. |
| Both had been held in a UK-wide police operation, Operation Pentameter. | Both had been held in a UK-wide police operation, Operation Pentameter. |
| The court heard the men were involved in prostituting four Lithuanian women at brothels in Birmingham and Cardiff. | The court heard the men were involved in prostituting four Lithuanian women at brothels in Birmingham and Cardiff. |
| The women were intimidated into handing over daily earnings of up to £400, the jury heard. | The women were intimidated into handing over daily earnings of up to £400, the jury heard. |
| Robert Brown, prosecuting, said the women, all in their early 20s, were recruited in Lithuania. | |
| He said the two men would pick up the women from Gatwick Airport and put them to work immediately in brothels in Birmingham. | |
| Operation Pentameter found more than 80 trafficked women | Operation Pentameter found more than 80 trafficked women |
| At least one of the four women had believed she was coming to work in a restaurant or hotel in the UK. | |
| When the woman arrived in the UK, Javori drove her to Birmingham where he took her to the Bullring shopping centre and "equipped her for prostitution", the court heard. | |
| Mr Brown said she was then sent to work in a brothel where she had sex with 10 men on the first day before managing to escape. | |
| The two defendants fell out in around December 2005, which resulted in them dividing the women between them and Kanani moving to Cardiff where he continued to prostitute them. | |
| Javori and Kanani were held during one of more than 500 raids by Operation Pentameter, which rescued 84 trafficked women, 12 of whom were aged between 14 and 17. | Javori and Kanani were held during one of more than 500 raids by Operation Pentameter, which rescued 84 trafficked women, 12 of whom were aged between 14 and 17. |
| Javori pleaded guilty to trafficking within the UK for sexual exploitation, causing or inciting prostitution for gain, and two counts of controlling prostitution for gain. | Javori pleaded guilty to trafficking within the UK for sexual exploitation, causing or inciting prostitution for gain, and two counts of controlling prostitution for gain. |
| Kanani pleaded guilty to two counts of controlling prostitution for gain, trafficking within the UK for sexual exploitation, and trafficking into the UK for sexual exploitation. | Kanani pleaded guilty to two counts of controlling prostitution for gain, trafficking within the UK for sexual exploitation, and trafficking into the UK for sexual exploitation. |
| The court heard they had both made a substantial profit from prostitution. | |
| Javori had more than £94,000 of unexplained deposits in his bank accounts and Kanani had more than £110,000 in his accounts from prostitution. | |
| 'Vulnerable women ' | |
| Malcolm Bishop, defending Javori, said his dealings with the first woman had lasted less than a day and that others were more responsible for what later happened to her. Of the other women, Mr Bishop said Javori "believed that each of the three women were already working prostitutes". | |
| David Aubrey QC, defending Kanani, said his client accepted an element of control over the women but claimed there had been no overt coercion. | |
| Judge Roderick Denyer told the pair: "They were vulnerable women economically within their homeland, and emotionally and economically in the UK where they were isolated and friendless. | |
| "It's clear both of you were part of a criminal enterprise which generated significant sums of cash, ultimately derived from vulnerable women." | |
| Javori, who used an interpreter in court, hurled abuse in English at police officers as he was led to the cells. | Javori, who used an interpreter in court, hurled abuse in English at police officers as he was led to the cells. |