Three men and one woman remanded in custody on controlling prostitution charges

​The accused are three men – Florin Ripan, 52, of Hill Street in Ballymena; Gabriel Manuel Orhean, 31, with an address given as Maghaberry Prison; and Ionut Duta, 27, of Chichester Park East in Ballymena – and a woman, Ondina Cordovan, 21, of Bridge Street in Ballymena.

All four accused are charged with controlling a Romanian woman's prostitution; using 'criminal property, namely money'; concealing 'criminal property – cash'; and entering into an arrangement to acquire criminal property.

Cordovan is also charged with 'brothel keeping'; possessing criminal property and possession of cannabis.

Orhean faces a fifth charge of driving whilst disqualified.

The cases were adjourned to September 12.

The charges are connected to an investigation by detectives from the PSNI's Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Unit.

Arrests were made following searches in Ballymena and Omagh on August 13.

No bail application was made by Orhean.

Objecting to bail for the other defendants, a detective constable told the court a “pro-active” investigation focused “on the activities of an organised crime gang involved in prostitution and money laundering offences”.

She said the investigation was “initiated following police contact with a vulnerable female who had travelled to Northern Ireland from Romania and was initiated into sex work by the organised crime gang in June 2023”.

The officer said the “young female” had been conveyed from Dublin and “placed in an address in Omagh which is linked to one of the defendants”.

The officer said adverts were placed on “adult service websites” and “sexual services” were provided.

The officer said the “victim has very limited English and no known links to this area” and was “isolated” at the address and her “only associates in Northern Ireland” were the “organised crime gang based in Ballymena”.

The officer said telecommunications data obtained during the investigation identified the defendants being involved in “conveying the victim to the address in Omagh throughout the period June 2023 to December 2023 when the adverts for adult service websites have been active”.

The officer said “financial inquiries” identified “cash deposits and transactions between the four defendants which correlate with this movement”.

The officer said the assessment was that the defendants “conveyed the victim to the address for the purpose of providing sexual services which they can financially benefit from”.

The officer said Duta denied the offences, and that £29,000 had gone through his account, above and beyond his wages, between January 2023 and June 2024.

Cordovan was at the “heart” of the investigation, the officer alleged.

The court was told up to £170,000 had gone through Cordovan's bank account between 2019 and 2024 despite having “no income” and no state benefits.

The police officer alleged Ripan was a “driver” in the organised crime gang.

She said it was estimated that between 2019 and 2024 £108,000 in his account was “not accounted for to police satisfaction”.

She said the defendant said the money came from “gambling, loans and a compensation claim for a vehicle”.

Refusing bail, District Judge Nigel Broderick said the charges were “serious” and he was “particularly concerned” about the amounts of money under investigation.