Two more British Guests, Costel Tambac and Mariana Iova, the Oldham Sex Offenders, have been convicted of modern slavery offences after women were transported from Romania to the UK for the purpose of engaging in sex work in West Yorkshire.
Costel Tambac and Mariana Iova were incarcerated today after a jury rendered a guilty verdict following their trial in July.
Costel Tambac and Mariana Iova, both Romanian citizens, were determined to be accountable for overseeing the lives of two female victims brought to the UK from Romania.
Both victims were informed that they were travelling to the UK to be employed as agency workers in a meat processing facility.
In actuality, they were “sold” to Costel Tambac and Mariana Iova, who exploited them as sex workers in brothels located in the Harehills and Holbeck districts of Leeds, as well as in Dewsbury, Oldham, and Nottingham.
The duo appropriated the funds acquired by the victims, leaving them with merely £10 each day for personal use.
The Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking squad of West Yorkshire Police initiated the investigation in 2016 following the disclosure of one victim.
She informed the police that she had been trafficked to the UK, where she was ‘sold’ to Costel Tambac and Mariana Iova.
Subsequently, she was compelled to labour for them and subjected to sexual exploitation.
The duo promoted their victims’ services on adult websites, escorting them to predetermined locations to deliver sexual services upon request.
They exerted control over their victims by confiscating their identification documents and finances, in addition to regulating their lifestyle.
They implemented this control through the use of violence and intimidation.
Costel Tambac and Mariana Iova were each convicted of two charges of sexual exploitation of a female victim in violation of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, and two counts of controlling prostitution for profit in contravention of Section 53 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003.
Today, Tambac, 50, formerly of Moorhey Street, Oldham, Greater Manchester, was jailed for nine years at Leeds Crown Court.
Iova, 35 years old and previously residing on Moorhey Street, Oldham, received an eight-year term.
In 2018, Costel Tambac and Mariana Iova absconded from the UK while still under investigation.
Authorities issued international arrest orders, leading to the apprehension of Costel Tambac and Mariana Iova in Amsterdam earlier this year, followed by their extradition to the UK.
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