Romanian sentenced to 24 years in Great Britain for trafficking and exploitation of women, after the authorities previously offered him voluntary departure.

Mircea Marian Cumpanasoiu, a 38-year-old Romanian, is accused of leading an Eastern European network that raped, drugged, and exploited vulnerable women in Dundee. According to a Sky News investigation, in the summer of 2024, while he was in HMP Perth prison, he was offered the sum of £1,500 to leave the UK through a government scheme for 'voluntary return'.

Cumpanasoiu received the necessary documents, expressing his desire to return home, but the offer was canceled following the opening of judicial proceedings. Additionally, his immigration status was automatically renewed in the same year. Subsequently, Cumpanasoiu was sentenced to 24 years in prison. Reactions from civil society and victim rights associations highlighted the incompetence of British authorities in handling this serious situation.