The minister of Justice, Alina Gorghiu, stated on her Facebook page on Friday that, in the first six months of this year, there are almost 1,200 active files regarding the trafficking of persons, including minors.

The clarifications were made in the context of bringing into the country from Great Britain a trafficker of minors sentenced to six years and six months in prison.

„I met with my UK counterpart, Shabana Mahmood, just yesterday (Thursday – ed. n) and discussed this topic. Human trafficking is the number one crime in our cooperation with the UK. Statistics show that, annually, more than 500 of Romanian children become victims of human trafficking,” said Alina Gorghiu.

In this context, she wanted to thank the British partners for being „a great support in our fight against organized crime and (they are) the number 1 country when it comes to handing over fugitives. 140 fugitives were brought from there in the first eight months of 2024,” she said.

Two fugitives were brought into the country overnight from Great Britain and the Netherlands to serve their sentences.

„Ionel Andreescu was sentenced to six years and six months in prison for trafficking in minors. He was brought from Great Britain, where he fled after the justice in Romania convicted him for exploiting vulnerable people. Vasile Arcaleanu, brought from the Netherlands, was sentenced to three years and six months for high-risk drug trafficking. The two are added to a contingent of over 530 fugitives brought to the country this year,” Alina Gorghiu said.

AGERPRES