VZCZCXRO4870
PP RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHLZ
DE RUEHMZ #0347/01 1621722
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 111722Z JUN 06
FM AMCONSUL MUNICH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3277
INFO RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE
RUEHBM/AMEMBASSY BUCHAREST 1675

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MUNICH 000347 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR G/TIP, INL/HSTC, DRL/IL, PRM, G/IWI, EUR/PGI, AND 
EUR/AGS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM PHUM KWMN KJUS PGOV SMIG ELAB GM RO
SUBJECT:  BAVARIAN TIP UPDATE: ARRESTS AND CONVICTIONS; 
          WORLD CUP 
 
REF: A. BERLIN 1504 
 
     ¶B. MUNICH 113 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1. (U) Bavarian police arrested two Romanians and one 
German May 21 for trafficking in persons (TIP) and pimping 
in Bavaria and Baden-Wuerttemberg.  The arrests were the 
result of a four-month police investigation launched on the 
basis of evidence gathered during routine "controls" of 
brothels in January 2006.  A special police task force, "AG 
STAR," was established to investigate the case.  In a 
separate case, a Munich court on June 1 sentenced three 
other Romanians for TIP, pimping, and blackmailing.  In a 
June 7 press conference, Bavarian Interior Minister 
Beckstein stated Bavaria was well prepared to counter TIP 
during the World Cup and expected fewer incidents of 
trafficking cases than media reports originally anticipated 
or predicted.  End Summary. 
 
----------------------- 
THE ROMANIAN CONNECTION 
----------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) According to police sources, Bavarian police 
arrested two Romanian men for trafficking Romanian women, 
mainly from the city of Sibiu, to Germany, where they were 
allegedly forced into prostitution.  Police say the women 
were provided forged Spanish and Italian passports.  The 
suspects took the women's earnings, and physically 
threatened them if they showed any resistance.  Police also 
arrested a third suspect, a German male, who allegedly 
acted as a middleman, transferring women to other red light 
districts in Germany. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The head of the TIP Division of the Munich police 
headquarters, Peter Schillinger, told the Consulate that 
authorities first became suspicious when police 
"controlled" (under Bavarian law, police can conduct 
routine inspections of brothels without cause) a new 
brothel on the east side of Munich on its opening night, 
finding a woman with what seemed to be a forged Spanish 
passport.  Police ultimately determined the woman was a 
Romanian citizen.  Although she was willing to cooperate 
with authorities by giving further information about the 
traffickers, she told police she did not want to be 
included in the witness protection program, preferring to 
be returned to Romania instead. 
 
¶4. (U) Following further investigation, police decided to 
conduct targeted controls at select brothels in Munich, 
Augsburg, and Ulm (on the border between Bavaria and Baden- 
Wuerttemberg).  The additional controls turned up two more 
trafficked Romanian women who were allegedly forced to work 
as prostitutes.  Evidence obtained in the controls led 
police to the three suspects. 
 
----------------------------------------- 
ARRESTS IN BAVARIA AND BADEN-WUERTTEMBERG 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (U) In a coordinated action May 18, police, armed with 
search and arrest warrants, arrested all three suspects on 
charges of TIP, pimping and blackmailing.  The three men 
were arrested separately in Weissenhorn, Bavaria; Laupheim, 
Baden-Wuerttemberg; and Achstetten, Baden-Wuerttemberg. 
Further investigation led Munich police to two more 
Romanian prostitutes in Ulm, who had also been in contact 
with the suspects.  Police determined that at least the 
younger of the two women appeared to also be a victim of 
the trafficking.  [NOTE:  Although most of the arrests were 
made in Baden-Wuerttemberg, the investigation and arrests 
were conducted under the leadership of the Bavarian police, 
with the cooperation of Baden-Wuerttemberg authorities. 
END NOTE.] 
 
¶6. (SBU) During the arrests, police seized several mobile 
phones and other evidence.  Authorities have set-up a 
special task force called "AG STAR" to further investigate 
the recent TIP arrests, and expect the task force to be 
active for at least several more weeks.  Schillinger told 
the Consulate that prosecutors hope to expedite the case 
through the legal system with the goal of going to court by 
September or October of this year. 
 
 
MUNICH 00000347  002 OF 002 
 
 
-------------------------------- 
OTHER ROMANIANS CONVICTED OF TIP 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (U) In a separate case, a Munich court on June 1 
sentenced three other Romanian men for TIP, pimping, and 
blackmailing eight Romanian women they had lured to Germany 
for prostitution.  Most of the women were under 21 years of 
age.  The three traffickers had promised the women well- 
paid jobs in Germany, then took their passports and housed 
them in apartments they had rented.  The traffickers 
received sentences ranging from one-and-a-half years, to 
five years, nine months in prison. 
 
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BAVARIAN POLICE GIVEN BROAD LATITUDE 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶8. (SBU) Schillinger stressed the Bavarian Interior 
Ministry generally gives police greater latitude than their 
counterparts are given in other German states.  He said 
police in other jurisdictions particularly envy the ability 
of Bavarian police to "control" brothels without any legal 
justification.  [NOTE:  Federal Interior and Family 
Ministry officials report German police in other states 
routinely use other legal grounds, ranging from noise 
violations to the suspected presence of under-age 
prostitutes, illegal migrants, or TIP victims, to monitor, 
raid, and inspect brothels (ref A).  END NOTE.] 
 
------------------------------------- 
BECKSTEIN CONFIDENT TIP UNDER CONTROL 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶9. (U) In a June 7 press conference, Bavarian Interior 
Minister Guenther Beckstein said the police in Germany, and 
particularly in Bavaria, were prepared for the World Cup to 
an extent unprecedented in recent history.  As far as TIP 
was concerned, Beckstein said he expects the number of 
forced prostitutes would likely stay well below media 
estimates.  Recent police controls in brothels and red 
light areas had kept traffickers on the run.  Additionally, 
authorities had widely distributed TIP prevention pamphlets 
in various Eastern European languages, and established help 
hotlines that would be available 24/7 during the 
championship. 
 
¶10. (U) Previous reporting from Munich is available on our 
SIPRNET website at www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/munich. 
 
¶11. (U) This message was coordinated with Embassy Berlin 
and Consulate General Frankfurt. 
 
ROONEY