Clan leader in Paris sentenced to eight years for human trafficking
A Roma clan leader, Roberto Hamidovic, has been sentenced to eight years in prison for orchestrating a human trafficking network that forced children to pickpocket tourists in Paris. The court also sentenced other family members for their roles in the organized crime ring.
Why it matters
The case exposes the brutal exploitation of minors in organized crime and the international scope of human trafficking networks.
Investigators said groups of six to nine youngsters were sent to the Paris Métro and told to target foreign tourists./Getty Images Investigators said groups of six to nine youngsters were sent to the Paris Métro and told to target foreign tourists./Getty Images France Clan leader in Paris sentenced to eight years for human trafficking Roberto Hamidovic, 48, sent gangs of child pickpockets to target tourists in Paris Métro and Disneyland
Prefer the Guardian on Google A clan leader who sent gangs of child pickpockets to target tourists in the Paris Métro and popular attractions such as Disneyland Paris has been jailed for human trafficking.
Roberto Hamidovic, 48, likened to Fagin, Charles Dickens’s notorious criminal boss, ran a network of child thieves, mostly girls, some as young as 10, who brought in an average of €25,000 (£21,500) a day, according to police.
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