SlaveryMap

Sheffield, UK, United Kingdom

The 15-year-old victim came to Britain from Lithuania for a summer job, expecting to work in a restaurant or café. She was traveling with a man from Lithuania who took her passport after arriving in Heathrow airport and introduced her to Shaban Maka, Ilir Barjami, Xhevahir Pisha, and Lina Yunel. She was then sold and taken to Birmingham to work in a brothel. She escaped, but was taken again to Coventry, and sold again to Pisha to paid 3,000 Pounds for her. She was taken to a brothel in Leicester, where she was told to repay him by working as a prostitute. She ran away again, and was once again captured and taken to London, where she was sold several times again until she was finally taken to Sheffield. There, Barjami paid 1,500 Pounds for her, and kept her in his apartment for a time before taking her to a sauna to get her work. In total, the ordeal lasted 3 months.

Location
United Kingdom · Sheffield, UK · 2008 (location generalized to protect survivors)
Response & intervention
Maka was convicted of trafficking the girl into Britain, and two counts of trafficking her within the country and sexual exploitation. Barjami was found guilty of two counts of trafficking the victim into and within Britain, false imprisonment, and rape. Pisha was found guilty of false imprisonment and trafficking for sexual exploitation. Yunel was cleared of trafficking the victim. Maka was sentenced to 18 years in prison, Barjami to 15 years, and Pisha to seven. The victims escaped from a nightclub in Sheffield and ran to a local police station for help. The victim escaped and went to local authorities for help.
Documented on the original SlaveryMap (2008–2016). We don't have a verifiable source on file yet — use “Report a problem” below to add one.

← All documented cases