KEY POINTS
- Romanian gang used drugs to exploit 10 young women in Dundee during 2021–2022
- Ringleader Marian Cumpanasoiu (38) and four others jailed
- The case is linked to a wider trafficking probe
DUNDEE, Scotland: A Romanian group that used drugs to exploit young women in Dundee has been jailed. The five offenders, four men and one woman – plied 10 victims, aged 16 to 30, with drugs at flats in Dundee between 2021 and 2022.
Ringleader Marian Cumpanasoiu, 38, and four others were already found guilty of many charges at Glasgow’s High Court.
Cumpanasoiu was given 24 years in prison, Urlateanu 20 years, Stan 12 years, Dobre 10 years, and Bugonea 8 years. Some gang members fled the country but were caught and brought back for trial.
Judge Lord Scott said the victims were vulnerable and the gang used drugs to control them.
He noted the group tried to attack the victims’ credibility and suggested that some victims might have felt they had to stay silent. He also mentioned the possibility of deportation after serving sentences.
Police connected the case to a wider probe into trafficking women to Dundee to work as prostitutes and to grooming local women with gifts and drugs.
Some victims were exploited in “sex games,” and the gang used fake online profiles to recruit others. A video on Cumpanasoiu’s phone showed him singing along to a rap song in court.
Cumpanasoiu was found guilty of several rapes and a Human Trafficking Act charge. Urlateanu was convicted of multiple rapes.
Stan, Dobre, and Bugonea were convicted of various sexual offences. All victims were supported to move on from their experiences.
Non-harassment orders were issued to protect the victims, and the men and women were placed on the sex offenders register. One member faced a separate trafficking exploitation order.
