A WOMAN has told how she ended up sleeping in an overcrowded flat before being transported to Ireland and “forced” to marry a man.
Adriana Adiova gave evidence at the High Court in Glasgow via video link from Slovakia at the trial of three men and a woman accused of human trafficking and forcing women into prostitution.
Vojtech Gombar, 61, Anil Wagle, 37, Jana Sandorova, 28,and Ratislav Adam, 31, all deny trafficking women into Scotland for prostitution and slavery.
Ms Adiova was 20 and living in Slovakia with her mother and siblings when a woman, Helena Cicova, and two men visited the house. The court heard from the witness that Ms Cicova offered she and her younger sister, then 18, a well-paid job in England.
READ MORE: Four go on trial accused of trafficking women into Glasgow
While Ms Adiova said she was reluctant to go, her younger sister was encouraged by promises of “gold and designer clothes”.
Now 28, the witness said she changed her mind and went with Ms Cicova because she was worried for the safety of her younger sister.
The court heard that Ms Cicova took possession of their ID cards and they left quickly with “only the clothes on our bodies” and without speaking to their mother as there was “not enough time”.
On arrival in Glasgow, she said she and her sister returned their ID cards to Ms Cicova as “we don’t know where we are, we don’t have any money and we were a bit worried”.
She said they were concerned about “what we will do, what will happen to us”.
The witness said they were taken to Ms Cicova’s flat in Govanhill, where 10 people lived, and were forced to share a sofa to sleep on.
Under examination by Advocate Depute Kath Harper, the witness told the court Ms Cicova said Ms Adiova and her younger sister could be married, rather than working. She said she agreed because she had “no other choice” and went with Ms Cicova and her sister to Mr Gombar’s nearby home where two Pakistani men were waiting.
She said she was informed one of the men wanted to find a bride for his son and wanted to choose “the older one”, which was her. Overnight, she said she heard Mr Gombar tell Ms Cicova that the woman had “made good business” and said in her police statement that Mr Gombar said he would receive 4,000 euro for the wedding but would not give her the money and would split it with Ms Cicova.
The witness said the next day she flew to Dublin with Ms Cicova on flights paid for by the Pakistani men, and on arrival 1,000 euro was placed on a table for Ms Cicova.
More than 13 women are said to have been trafficked, mostly from Slovakia, to be exploited in the UK or elsewhere.
Mr Gombar faces 24 charges, Mr Wagle faces six, Ms Sandorova faces 11, and Mr Adam faces 16, all of which they deny. The trial, before Judge Lord Beckett, continues.
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