DIICOT Iași detained four people in a case involving trafficking of minors, while two others are being investigated under judicial supervision

Four people, including one woman and three men aged between 17 and 32, have been detained in Iași in a child trafficking case, following searches and hearings conducted by officers from the Iași Brigade for Combating Organized Crime and DIICOT prosecutors from the Iași Territorial Service. Two other people, both minors aged 16 and 17, have been placed under judicial supervision.

According to investigators, between September 2025 and October 2026, a 17-year-old living in a residential social care center allegedly recruited several vulnerable victims lacking family support for the purpose of sexual exploitation. The victims, aged 14 and 17, were allegedly forced into prostitution through repeated physical assaults, threats and blackmail involving the distribution of sexually explicit recordings.

Investigators say the victims were transported to clients in the “La punte” area or to homes in rural parts of Iași County. Two other minors allegedly followed the same modus operandi, recruiting and sexually exploiting victims from the same center. Three adults allegedly took custody of two of the victims, while one of them allegedly arranged meetings and obtained benefits from the activity.

Money obtained through the exploitation was allegedly taken by the people under investigation. Evidence was seized during the searches. On October 21, prosecutors asked the rights and freedoms judge to order pre-trial detention for the four detained individuals. The operation was supported by SAS Iași officers and gendarmes. The people under investigation benefit from the presumption of innocence.