Montenegro on a crusade against organised crime

B92 News ^ | Dec 2, 2002 | AFP

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Montenegro on a crusade against organised crime | 10:57 | AFP

PODGORICA -- Tuesday -- The arrest of Montenegro's deputy state attorney on charges of pimping and human trafficking is being seen as a first important step in the fight against organized crime in this tiny Yugoslav republic.

Police said deputy state attorney Zoran Piperovic, 46, and three other men were arrested on Sunday after an investigation "led to uncovering a network of trafficking in human beings and organised prostitution."

Non-governmental groups on Monday welcomed the arrest, with Nebojsa Medojevic of the Group for Changes calling for further moves by police to "reveal all involved in this crime."

"There must be no privileged or protected individuals or institutions in the efficient fight against crime in Montenegro," Medojevic said in a statement.

Trafficking of young women, mostly from Russia, Moldova, Ukraine and Bulgaria, mainly for prostitution, has been widely rumoured in Montenegro, a mountainous republic at the Adriatic sea, which, along with Serbia, forms the Yugoslav federation.

Montenegrin media said Piperovic's arrest was a result of testimony from a woman from the former Soviet republic of Moldova, who had been held in Montenegro by her bosses.

The police raided numerous night clubs and bars, arresting prostitutes, but not high-ranking members of the network.

This year, 29 people have been charged with involvement in human trafficking and links with prostitution.

Montenegrin police said they have sent 46 young women, victims of forced prostitution, to shelters, or their home countries.

Most of them have been saved from their bosses thanks to the efforts of several non-governmental groups, notably Female Safe House and Feminine Lobby, as well as the International Organization for Migration.

Female Safe House, which had worked with the interior ministry in the investigation, opn Sunday called for the resignation of Piperovic's boss, State Attorney Bozidar Vukcevic.

The non-governmental groups also urged further investigation into the origins of the "enormous wealth" of the arrested officials.

Montenegrin opposition daily Dan reported Monday further arrests might be expected.

The Moldovan woman, whose testimony led to Piperovic's arrest, gave authorities details about her former bosses and the houses in the capital Podgorica where she and other women had been detained.

Most of the women came to Montenegro from Serbia, one expert dealing with the issue told AFP.

"The boss usually obtains residence papers for a month for the girls, registering them as masseurs in Podgorica," said the expert, requesting anonymity.

The woman usually "works for a month on a demand of a client who pays between 150 and 200 euros for a night," said the expert, who said he had been involved in trafficking before.

With the arrival of a "new supply of girls," the ones already in "business" are sold to bosses in other Montenegrin towns. Some of them manage to escape to neighbouring Albania.

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Some of them manage to escape to neighbouring Albania!!!!

But I thought it was only Kosovo Albanians who trafficked in prostitution?

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bump

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Do pay attention!

[The_Reader_David]

Seeing that organized crime in the Balkans is mostly run by Muslims, a crusade against it might seem in order. Then again, the Christians in Montenegro are Orthodox, and we don't really like crusades that much, praticularly not since the Fourth.

[F-117A]

Just who escaped to albania?

Some of the bosses that evaded arrest?

Albanian girls?

If it's the latter, I wish them luck! The following paragraph refers to Italy, but could as well be Montenegro.

"An Albanian girl handed to traffickers is doomed," said Giulia Falzoi, an Italian human-rights worker who deports illegal immigrants. "She cannot even start a new life if she is arrested and sent back to Albania. Her family has disowned her. She is psychologically damaged. The trafficker either kills her or puts her on a boat back to Italy."