Detectives have lifted the lid on how they caught a Romanian grooming gang who raped and abused 10 women in Dundee.
Five members of the gang – Marian Cumpanasoiu, 37, Remus Stan, 34, Catalan Dobre, 44, Cristian Urlateanu, 41, and Alexandra Bugonea, 34 – were convicted of numerous charges at the High Court in Glasgow.
The group were caught after a two-year police human trafficking investigation, Operation Recloir.
The gang – who are still to be sentenced – first came to the attention of police in 2021.
But intelligence gathered on their activities involving women in Dundee a year later prompted a full investigation.
Dundee grooming gang cruised bars and nightclubs looking for victims
Officers found the gang members cruised Dundee bars and nightclubs looking for vulnerable teenagers and young women to exploit.
The youngest of their victims was just 16.
In witness statements, the women told how they were first befriended and then plied with free drugs – usually crack cocaine.
All the women who came forward said they had been involved with the gang romantically, with many convinced they were girlfriends and unaware they were being exploited.
However, they were being groomed and once hooked on drugs, were then sexually exploited for the gang’s gratification.
Footage of some of the victims engaging in sexual activity – described as “horrific” by detectives – was also discovered on one of the gang member’s mobile phones.
Victims were trafficked between several flats in Dundee, including properties in Baxter Park and Lochee.
In all, 10 victims gave testaments in the trial but detectives found evidence that as many as 45 women may have been targeted.
Evidence also found that one victim had been forced into prostitution.
Detectives are convinced this would have been the eventual outcome of many others had the gang’s activities gone unchecked.
Dundee grooming gang members fled UK
It was eventually decided that there was enough evidence to arrest the ringleaders.
However, officers were on a routine visit to one of the victims when two members of the gang unexpectedly arrived at the woman’s home.
The decision was taken there and then to arrest the pair 24 hours earlier than had been planned.
Three other suspects then fled the UK.
International arrest warrants were issued and two were later traced in Belgium while another was hiding out in the Czech Republic.
They were extradited to Scotland in time for the trial.
Those within law enforcement discovered chilling similarities with the 2012 Rochdale child abuse scandal.
However, police say the crucial difference in Dundee was the speed at which officers and partner agencies moved to protect the victims.
‘It was disgraceful what these women and girls were subjected to’
Detective Inspector Scott Carswell, senior investigating officer on the case, told The Courier that responding quickly was crucial if the investigation was to be a success.
He said: “Helping the women understand that they were victims was hugely important and a massive part of getting the gang to court.
“Trafficking is that element of control not where they come from be it Dundee or abroad.
“This was awful behaviour. I didn’t believe it was happening in our communities but when you investigate it and see it firsthand from the evidence, it was disgraceful what these women and girls were subjected to.
“They have absolutely groomed them for their own gratification which is utterly deplorable.”
DI Carwell also paid tribute to the many support agencies and the Crown Office for Operation Recloir’s success.
He added: “Often they were as determined as we were to get a result.
“However, the biggest credit has to go to those victims who found the courage to stand up and be heard.
“Without their powerful testaments, these criminals would still be at large making other women’s lives a misery.”
Conversation