9 arrested in crackdown on loverboy trafficking in Bulgaria and UK

Name: Operation MOTLEY 

Crime Area: Trafficking in human beings for the purpose of sexual exploitation

Action day: 26 April 2023

Participating countries: Bulgaria and United Kingdom 

Authorities involved: General Directorate Combating Organised Crime (Bulgaria) and Metropolitan Police (United Kingdom)

Agencies involved: Europol and Eurojust 

Arrests: 9 arrests  

Victims safeguarded:  5 

Assets seized: Assets worth over EUR 1.1 million, including cash, high value vehicles and property

Modus operandi: The suspects – all Bulgarian nationals, are believed to have trafficked young women to the United Kingdom for sexual exploitation. They targeted their victims on social media and used the loverboy method to lure them to the United Kingdom. Once there, the girls were advertised by this criminal organisation on adult services websites. The criminals routinely used violence to coerce their victims. 

Europol’s contribution: Europol has been supporting this case since 2021 by facilitating the information exchange between the authorities involved and providing analytical support to map out the key targets and criminal activity. A Europol officer was deployed to Bulgaria on the action day to assist the investigators with the live analysis of data as it was being collected.