VZCZCXRO6109
OO RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHPS #0444/01 1561706
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 051706Z JUN 07
FM USOFFICE PRISTINA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7426
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 1178
RHMFISS/CDR USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY
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RHFMISS/AFSOUTH NAPLES IT PRIORITY
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PRISTINA 000444 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/SCE, DRL, INL, AND G/TIP, NSC FOR BRAUN, USUN 
FOR DREW SCHUFLETOWSKI, USOSCE FOR STEVE STEGER, OPDAT FOR 
ACKER 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/01/2017 
TAGS: GTIP KJUS KCRM EAID KDEM UNMIK YI
SUBJECT: KOSOVO: FIVE TRAFFICKING SUSPECTS RECEIVE A TOTAL 
OF 19 YEARS IN PRISON 
 
REF: PRISTINA 150 
 
Classified By: COM TINA KAIDANOW FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY:  Kosovo media reported on May 29 that the 
Pristina Regional Court sentenced five people accused of 
trafficking in persons (TIP) to a total of 19 years in 
prison, ranging from 7.6 years for the group's ringleader to 
2 years for a Moldovan woman whom the Kosovo Police Service 
(KPS) told us may have originally been a victim herself.  The 
arrests, which occured in June 2006, were the result of a 
two-year undercover operation that the KPS Trafficking in 
Human Beings Section (THBS) began while under the tutelage of 
UNMIK Police.  The good news is that these sentences 
reflected the solid work of the KPS, which conducted the 
initial raid, and an increasing awareness by the Kosovo 
judiciary of the gravity of TIP crimes.  On the other hand, 
the arrest of a female trafficker may confirm the KPS THBS's 
suspicion (reftel) that traffickers are starting to involve 
former victims in their crimes, making it potentially more 
easy to recruit victims.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (C) Kosovo media reported on May 29 that Pristina Regional 
Court sentenced five people accused of trafficking in persons 
(TIP) at the Tango Cafe in Pristina to a total of 19 years in 
prison.  According to presiding judge Marie Ademi, the 
group's ringleader, Tango Cafe owner Hilmi Krasniqi, received 
7.5 years in prison and a 5,000 euro fine, and a Moldovan 
woman, Natalia "Natasha" Antohi, received two years in 
prison.  Although Antohi denies the charge, KPS THBS Chief 
Ramadan Ahmeti told USOP that KPS THBS believes she was 
initially a trafficking victim.  The indictment says she 
worked in the Tango Cafe at three different times.  Ahmet 
Llapashtica, Blerim Ibrahimi and Ruzhdi Berisha received 4.5, 
three and two years, respectively.  Ademi told USOP she 
ordered detention on remand for Krasniqi, Llapashtica and 
Antohi until the judgment becomes final. 
 
¶3. (C) The Tango Cafe ring allegedly engaged in human 
trafficking between February 2003 when the Tango Cafe opened 
and June 6, 2006 when the KPS raided the premises.  The 
indictment says they recruited, transferred, housed and 
exploited women from Ukraine and Moldova.  Krasniqi 
reportedly promised the victims work as waitresses and 
dancers and provided them with plane tickets and employment 
contracts, but later forced them into prostitution. 
Llapshtica, Ibrahimi and Berisha allegedly assisted Krasniqi 
with the recruitment, transfer and exploitation of the 
victims, while Antohi met them at the Pristina Airport, 
instructed them on how to behave with their clients, and 
supervised their work.  According to KPS THBS Chief Ahmeti, 
the women lived and worked in the Tango Cafe, and were 
occasionally escorted to nearby hotels to serve clients.  One 
of the victims who testified against the ring, Olesea Sirbu, 
said she was asked to sign an employment contract in English, 
which Antohi translated for her.  She thought it was for a 
job as a dancer, but when she got to the Tango Cafe, she was 
forced to have sexual relations with clients.  When she asked 
to go back to Moldova, Llapastica reportedly told her she 
would have to work for one year first. 
 
¶4. (C) Ahmeti told USOP the bust was the result of a two-year 
undercover operation that was undertaken thanks to both 
routine investigative work and information from trafficking 
victims rescued in other raids who mentioned having worked at 
the Tango Cafe.  The KPS THBS began the operation while still 
under UNMIK's supervision, but carried out the bust on their 
own shortly after transitioning.  It was one of their first 
big post-transition operations. 
 
¶5. (C) Comment:  The Tango Cafe sentences reveal both the 
solid work of the KPS and a growing awareness among the 
Kosovo judiciary of the gravity of TIP crimes.  In 2006, the 
majority of the TIP-related sentences handed down were for 
one year or less.  Nevertheless, the arrest of Natasha Antohi 
may confirm the KPS THBS's suspicion that traffickers are 
 
PRISTINA 00000444  002 OF 002 
 
 
starting to involve former victims in their business.  This 
is a troubling trend since women may be more likely to trust 
employment offers from other women.  USOP will continue to 
monitor TIP trends in Kosovo and to support TIP-related 
training for the Kosovo judiciary.  USOP will also continue 
to push for the Kosovo Special Prosecutors Office (KSPO) to 
handle trafficking cases. 
KAIDANOW