South American sex workers gave pimps half their earnings, rent and flight costs

Two women from Colombia and Venezuela have testified in court proceedings against a Maltese human trafficking ring, describing the way they were encouraged to take up sex work in Malta and how they split their earnings with their pimps.

Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech insisted that the victims be only brought to testify once, warning the prosecution the court would not allow any secondary victimisation of the witnesses. 

The two women testified by video-link, and form part of some 50 witnesses who are yet to testify in the criminal proceedings against nine individuals who were among 11 people arrested in police raids on 12 August. The defendants are facing charges of money laundering and immoral earnings, apart from other prostitution-related charges. 

Assisted by parte civile lawyer Lara Dimitrijevic, the two witnesses explained that they were first introduced to the prospect of travelling to Malta by a friend, before leaving on a ticket financed by the Maltese organisation. 

Once they arrived in Malta, they had to pay back the flight ticket, as well as rent for their apartment – which was shared with other sex workers – and give practically half of their earnings to their pimps. 

One of the accused, Clint d’Amato, was identified in court as their fixer by both witnesses, who told the court that they knew him as, ‘Elmo’ and ‘Miguel.’ 

The Venezuelan witness travelled in Malta back in March 2024, with an intention to overstay and enter prostitution at the behest of the traffickers. She said she was promised a good pay “and no problems”. 

She said she charged clients €100 for one hour of sex work, keeping 55% of her earnings. “The work didn’t have fixed hours. If I woke up at 10am I could start work then. Two, three hours, as much as my body could take.” 

D’Amato would forward the clients to her, effectively taking calls through the prostitute’s WhatsApp number that was displayed on an online profile page for sex workers. Clients would enter the apartment, explain the services required, and if she refused, they would have to leave. “If I finished working at 2pm, I would message ‘Miguel’ and he would tell me to calculate my dues and leave the money on the table for him.” 

The witness said she paid some €750 in rent every month, on top of the percentage she passed on to the pimp, as well as the €3,350 ‘loan’ that represented her flight ticket to Malta. “I came here with debt for the flight. So when the client paid me, I took all the money and then I would do the sums and hand everything over to Miguel.” 

She added that she hoped to raise money to buy a house and pay for an operation for her daughter, “and have a better future.” 

She said she could see around six clients a day, and potentially earn even up to €1,700 when including tips; by 1 August, she estimated that she was owed €5,000 but that she was not transferred the entirety of those earnings by her pimp. “When the police came to our apartment, I was frightened, even though I needn’t have been. They found my notebook and asked who it belonged to, but I said nothing. I told them it was mine, later at the police station.” 

She added that new women were moving into the flat, also sex workers. The premises was monitored by small cameras, one inside and the other outside the building. 

The second witness, a Colombian 20-year-old, recounted a similar experience where an online acquaintance had encouraged her to travel to Malta. 

The witness revealed she had already carried out sex work in Medellin, explaining that she was described as a ‘company woman’ there rather than a prostitute. She was a beautician by trade but had carried out sex work for people she met on Tinder. Malta was proposed to her as a destination close to Bilbao, Spain, where she would be able to move and leave the sex trade after saving enough, she told the court. 

She was picked up by D’Amato from the airport upon her arrival, who would also accompany her on €150 outcalls to clients. 

She, too, was obliged to pay back her flight, which she estimated at around €1,200 (5 million Colombian pesos). 

Background

The nine suspects were arrested during an early morning raid last week across various Malta localities on Monday, 12 August. 

The defendants are: Luke Farrugia, 36, from Birkirkara; Clint D’Amato 36, from Gudja; Denzil Farrugia, 19; Alexandra Suhov Procora, a 32-year old Romanian woman residing at St Paul’s Bay, who told the court she was an accountant; Nicolae Efimov, 37 also Romanian and residing in St Paul’s Bay; Kane Vassallo, 22, from Siggiewi; Luca Emanuele Corito, 21, from Isla; Dylan McKay, 30, from Fgura; and Gordon Cassar, 44 from Żebbuġ. 

All nine are charged with money laundering, promoting or setting up a criminal organisation, forcing individuals over 21 years of age into prostitution, holding persons against their will in a brothel as bonded debtors, knowingly living off the earnings of prostitution and running a brothel. 

All accused will remain in custody at the Corradino Correctional Facility for the time being.

Lawyers Franco Debono, Robert Montalto, Marion Camilleri, Mario Mifsud, Nicholas Mifsud, Charles Merceica, Etienne Borg Ferranti, Kathleen Calleja Grima and Michaela Giglio are assisting the individual defendants. 

14:54 Inspector Spiteri informs the court that there are some 50 prosecution witnesses. The case cntinues on 26 and 28 Aug at 9am. Matthew Vella

14:47 D’Amato had told her that she would be working as a prostitute, the witness says, “but he never forced me to.” When the police had raided the premises she only had €50, as the rest of her share of the earnings would be paid to her before her return to Colombia.

The witness was evasive when asked about what she was told she would be doing in Malta, avoiding using the term ‘prostitute’. “We use the term ‘company woman’ in Colombia because prostitute has negative connotations."

After arriving in Malta, she was given a photoshoot in bikinis and skimpy underwear. “I don’t think you need that for waitressing,” observed one of the defence lawyers. She candidly admits to the court that she preferred sex work to waitressing, because the pay was better and the hours shorter. Matthew Vella

14:32 At this stage, the interpreter points out that the witness might have earlier meant that she could have worked in a restaurant or a bar or disco as a prostitute. But when the court asked the witness again, she appeared to insist that she had not been aware of the prostitution aspect before D'Amato showed her the room with condoms and lube. Matthew Vella

14:22 She describes Elmo as bald and tall. The court turns the camera around to show the defendants. She points out the same individual indicated by the previous witness, alias Miguel. Police Inspector John Spiteri asks to be allowed to confirm the man’s name on oath: Clint Lawrence D’Amato. Matthew Vella

14:20 In her four days working in Malta, she serviced between six to eight men, two of them outside the brothel. She would charge €150 per hour for outcalls. She said she had to pay for her return flight, which cost around 5 million Colombian pesos, the money of which had to be paid to Elmo, who would receive 50% after deducting her flight expenses. Matthew Vella

14:06 The magistrate asks the witness when she found out about the prostitution aspect of her stay in Malta. She was told by Elmo after her arrival. “I was only here for 4 days before I was arrested.” The magistrate pointed out that it was unlikely that she was buying condoms and lubricant “for her coffee”. She denied knowing that she was expected to do sex work in Malta before her arrival but was not averse to it as she had done it before back in Colombia. Matthew Vella

14:00 Elmo provided her with condoms and lubricants. “He told me that I would be paid more for outcalls... We would split the earnings 50-50. I was never told that it was illegal in Malta.” She earned much more for the same work in Malta than back home in Medellin and would send money home to her mother and family. In Colombia, she worked as a beautician and nail tech. Pressed on this point, she said that she would also do prostitution work in Colombia, servicing her friends and people she met on Tinder. Malta was proposed as a destination close to Bilbao, Spain, where she would be able to move and leave the sex trade after saving enough. Matthew Vella

13:55 “I came here mostly to visit, but I could also work at cafés and so on,” said the witness. She claimed ‘escort work’ is legal in Medellin, where she came from and wasn’t aware that it was illegal in Malta. Despite avoiding using the term for some time, she agrees with the court’s suggestion that the work was indeed prostitution. Her only contact in Malta was Elmo who would communicate with Cielo. Elmo picked her up from the airport, describing him to the court as an Uber driver “because he would drive me around”. Elmo would also drive her to appointments with clients outside her apartment, which she shared with two other girls, one of whom she said was the previous witness. Matthew Vella

13:47 A second Colombian woman, 20, will testify through videolink. She is administered the oath. She says a female online acquaintance named Cielo encouraged her to travel to Malta. “She said there were nice boys, beaches and work opportunities... I looked it up on Google maps and it seemed very nice.”

The witness was told her travels would be paid for, but she would have to show that she had €450 before departure. The ticket was emailed to the witness and she left Colombia on August 8, she says, with a 28 August return date. She was told she would be staying at an Airbnb and upon her arrival she was given a number for a man who would pick up from the airport. Matthew Vella

13:19 The witness says she was listed as “Pamela” on her work WhatsApp account, but she would not be talking to the clients herself. “Behind that chat it was Miguel.”

Miguel had given her the Pamela alias the day after her arrival in Malta on 24 June. The court asks why it was needed. “I had wanted to change my name. For my security,” says the woman.

Prompted by the court, she describes MIguel as "tall, pale, bald and fat.” Only one of the defendants fits that description. She points him out to the magistrate on the video feed. Matthew Vella

13:18 The witness says she was listed as “Pamela” on her work WhatsApp account, but she would not be talking to the clients herself. “Behind that chat it was Miguel.”

Miguel had given her the Pamela alias the day after her arrival in Malta on 24 June. The court asks why it was needed. “I had wanted to change my name. For my security,” says the woman.

Prompted by the court, she describes MIguel as "tall, pale, bald and fat.” Only one of the defendants fits that description. She points him out to the magistrate on the video feed. Matthew Vella

13:02 The witness says she decided to keep a log of her clients in a notebook, but over time noticed that someone else was also writing in it with green ink. “After deducting the €3,350 for the flight ticket, after paying my debt, I started keeping note of how much I should be earning.” She estimated that she was owed something between €5,000 and €6000, from Thursday, August 1, over two weeks.

She had asked for the transfer of half of her earnings, but her boss Miguel told her that she could only have €1,000. The woman said she had also earned something in the region of around €1,500 as tips.

“When the police came to our apartment, I was frightened, even though I needn’t have been. They found my notebook and asked who it belonged to, but I said nothing. I told them it was mine, later at the police station.” Matthew Vella

12:31 The witness’s flat was shared with four other women. “There were three other rooms in which we would provide the services to the client. For prostitution effectively.”

The woman would see around six clients a day, with the most she would earn being around €1,500-€1,700 a day.

Clients would know what she looked like from a photo on an online profile page. “I imagine that the clients would be communicating with Miguel, because he would tell me the times they would be coming. I never communicated directly with them. The client would show me my picture in a message on a WhatsApp chat with Miguel.”

She would hear conversations between Miguel and the clients. These would be in English “or the local language.” Matthew Vella

12:21 Dimitrijevic asks about the payments she made to her employer. The witness says money from her earnings would pay back the ‘loan’ of her flight ticket to Malta. “I came here with debt for the flight. So when the client paid me, I took all the money and then I would do the sums and hand everything over to Miguel.”

But she was not paid the full sum that she calculated she was owed for her work, she says. Matthew Vella

12:18 The witness explains that clients forwarded from Migel, would message her on WhatsApp, to open her front door. The client would then describe the services he desired. If she agreed, they would proceed and if she refused, he would have to leave. Payment would always be in cash. “If I finished working at 2pm, I would message him and he would tell me to calculate my dues and leave the money on the table for him.”

“Who calculated the percentages?” asked the court. “It worked like this: I would be paid directly by the client. When I finished working, I would calculate my percentage to know how much I earned, but I had to leave all the money on the table to be checked by the boss. Then they were supposed to give me my earnings. I told him I needed a better phone, an iPhone. He said ‘ok’ and asked me how much it was: I said €780. He gave me the €180 and I bought it.”

She said Miguel told her that she had to pay him €25 every day, besides her percentage, to stay at the apartment: around €750 a month. Matthew Vella

12:07 The first witness, a Colombian woman, testifies.

Lara Dimitrijevic asks the woman where she had been residing before coming to Malta. The witness hails from Colombia. Her friend, Michelle, who worked with her at a shopping mall, had invited her to go to Malta with her. She had asked Michelle whether she did any other work but the friend said she didn’t, saying she liked to travel and meet people.

The lawyer walks her narrative back, asking how they would contact each other. Michelle gave the witness her mobile phone number. They travelled to Malta in March 2024.

The witness said she had realised what she would be doing in Malta. Dimitrijevic asked her about her statement about knowing what she was going to do. “Prostitution,” replied the witness. “What did Michelle tell you about this?” asks the lwyer.

“That I’d be paid well, that there wouldn't be any problems.”

The witness says her wage would depend on the number of clients she serviced, and that more details about the payment and fee arrangements would be forthcoming after she came to Malta.

The witness said a booking for a 10-day return ticket, leaving on 23 June to stay as a tourist till 10 July. But she did not leave, to “stay here and earn more money”.

When she arrived at her Malta flat, Michelle opened the front door. “We rested. The next morning, she told me that the boss, Miguel, would be coming and explain everything.” He was the only person she had met and understood that he was her boss. They communicated using Google Translate.

Two days after the witness arrived in Malta, her contact Michelle had flown to a new country.

She would charge €50 for 30 minutes for sex, and €100 for 1 hour. “Miguel told me I could keep 55% of my earnings and I would have to hand over the remaining 45% to him.” The witness said she was focused on earning as much money as she could to be able to afford to return to her homeland.

When she was tired, she was allowed to rest. “The work didn’t have fixed hours. If I woke up at 10am I could start work then. Two, three hours, as much as my body could take.” Matthew Vella

11:56 After a lengthy delay, the first victim, a woman from Venezuela begins testifying. The court upholds a request to ban the publication of her name. Matthew Vella

11:29 Four of the alleged victims have given evidence in the magisterial inquiry, whose proces verbal has not been presented however; the magistrate instructed that the defence be provided with a copy of the inquiry proces verbal.

There are eight victims in all, assisted in parte civile by lawyer Lara Dimitrijevic.

Prosecuting inspector Spiteri explains that his testimony today will take at least 5 hours.

Defence lawyer Kathleen Grima suggests that the investigating official at least “give an indication about what on earth has happened” before the witnesses are cross-examined. The court agrees.

The court is currently thrashing out the logistics of how and when the case will be heard, with the lawyers and interpreters. Matthew Vella

11:21 In between sittings, the court has informed the defence that the Attorney General had filed a request, asking the alleged victims be allowed to give their evidence through video conferencing. The court upheld the request.

Joe Giglio “Given that the cross-examination of the witnesses must be carried out on the same day, the defence has nothing about what they are going to say.”

Court asks prosecution whether they had released a declaration. They had, but this had not been given to the defence, he said.

Inspector John Spiteri explains he only has an audiovisual statement in hand and did not have a written declaration available at this stage. He has no issue in exhibiting it as evidence. The defence said that it had to be provided as disclosure, and not exhibited.

Magistrate Frendo Dimech insisted that the victims be only brought to testify once, meaning that their cross-examination must also happen today. “I will not be a participant in any secondary victimisation,” she says.

The court is now taking attendance for all the defendants and their respective lawyers, and swearing in the interpreters who will be assisting the non-Maltese speaking defendants. Matthew Vella

09:52 The defendants are: Luke Farrugia, 36, from Birkirkara; Clint D’Amato 36, from Gudja; Denzil Farrugia, 19; Alexandra Suhov Procora, a 32-year old Romanian woman residing at St Paul’s Bay, who told the court she was an accountant; Nicolae Efimov, 37 also Romanian and residing in St Paul’s Bay; Kane Vassallo, 22, from Siggiewi; Luca Emanuele Corito, 21, from Isla; Dylan McKay, 30, from Fgura; and Gordon Cassar, 44 from Żebbuġ.

All nine are charged with money laundering, promoting or setting up a criminal organisation, forcing individuals over 21 years of age into prostitution, holding persons against their will in a brothel as bonded debtors, knowingly living off the earnings of prostitution and running a brothel.

Lawyers Franco Debono, Robert Montalto, Marion Camilleri, Mario Mifsud, Nicholas Mifsud, Charles Merceica, Etienne Borg Ferranti, Kathleen Calleja Grima and Michaela Giglio are assisting the individual defendants. Matthew Vella

09:50 Good morning, and welcome to this live-blog: senior court reporter Matthew Agius is at the Valletta law courts. Matthew Vella

Lawyers Ramon Bonett Sladden and Charmaine Abdilla from the Office of the Attorney General prosecuted, together with police inspectors John Spiteri, Joseph Xerri and Dorianne Tabone.