A CARLOW MAN convicted of controlling prostitution and money laundering, who is currently serving a prison sentence in the UK, has been ordered to pay a fine of €2million or face another ten years behind bars.
Forty-nine year old TJ Carroll from Bagenalstown is currently serving a seven year sentence in Wales for his involvement in a multi-million euro network that trafficked women into Ireland and forced them to work as prostitutes, reports RTÉ. Carroll’s daughter, Toma, and partner, Shamiela Clarke, were also involved.
Carroll and his associates operated 35 brothels across Ireland, and he admitted to gardaí that he made about €1 million a year through enslaving the women.
He fled to Wales to avoid arrest in 2005, but was apprehended following a combined effort by the gardaí, the PSNI and the UK’s Serious Organised Crime Organisation. Before he was arrested, Carroll had set up another brothel in a small town in the country.
Six women who had been trafficked were rescued by the authorities. The women had been trafficked and forced to work as prostitutes by use of threats and violence. They were moved around Ireland from brothel to brothel – a tactic often used by pimps to prevent enslaved women from seeking help or forming friendships.
Ruhama, an organisation that works with women involved in prostitution, welcomed the order – but warned that the Carroll gang was only one of several operating in the Irish sex trade.
Gerardine Rowley said: “The majority of women in indoor prostitution are paying money to criminal organisers. We hear about the serious exploitation, intimidation and violence inflicted on the women by these gangs.”
“We need tougher penalties dealing with the broader issue of organised prostitution, and enhanced legislation targeting the buyers who ultimately create the demand that fuels this industry, rather than the vulnerable women exploited,” she added.
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