Florin Nicoale Ghinea, known in the underworld by the nickname Ghenosu, who disappeared from Romania in May, just before organised crime police raided his home, has been in London, the Romanian Police announced. “On August 13, 2018, around 6:30 pm, the British police in Hertfordshire, on the outskirts of London, arrested Florin Nicolae Ghinea, named “Ghenosu” who was on the list of the most wanted persons in Romania,” said the General Police Inspectorate on Tuesday evening.
According to the UK’s National Crime Agency’s Armed Operations Unit, Ghinea was detained on Tuesday as he was leaving a gym in Watford, about 25 kilometres from London.
The Romanian kingpin is wanted by the authorities on human trafficking, conspiracy to murder, blackmail and money laundering charges. He is accused of orchestrating a trafficking ring which saw Romanian women sent to Ireland, Finland and Dubai for the purposes of sexual exploitation, as well as conspiring to kill a criminal rival. He was arrested by the British police, on foot of a European arrest warrant issued by the Romanian authorities.
In May, Florin Ghinea was placed on the Europol list of the most wanted fugitives, after a court issued a warrant for preventive arrest in his name. Ghinea disappeared from home shortly before DIICOT, the Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism – the Romanian agency tasked with investigating and prosecuting organised crime and terrorism-related offenses, raided his home in Dambovita County, as part of a broad campaign against organised crime. According to Romanian prosecutors, he was tipped off by a policeman he met right before the raid. Interior Minister Carmen Dan ordered an internal investigation into the allegations of a police tip-off.
National Crime Agency deputy director Tom Dowdall said his arrest had made UK streets safer. “Ghinea was being sought by the Romanian authorities for some extremely serious offences, including human trafficking and murder, and was quite rightly regarded as one of Europe’s most wanted,” he said. Ghinea has been remanded in custody ahead of his next court appearance on 25 September.
