Brothel manager drove ‘enslaved women’ for sex work across country

Lazlo Matus, 53, was the right-hand man in a human trafficking gang led by husband-and-wife Attila Angyal, 43, and Melinda Petrovic, 35.

Bolton Crown Court heard how women had been kept under the gang’s control using “fake debts” and were driven to various locations around the country as sex workers.

Prosecutor Ryan Donoghue said: “In terms of this defendant, he was involved in driving the victims between various locations where Ms Petrovic had posted online advertising their services.”

Dressed in a light pink t-shirt and glasses, Matus listened in silence from the dock as Mr Donoghue told the court how the gang operated.

The case was heard at Bolton Crown Court (Image: Anthony Moss) He said that they had operated under the threat of violence from Petrovic and in the case of one victim actual violence from Angyal.

Mr Donoghue said that Matus had been involved in driving sex workers across the country from Bolton to Merseyside, Birmingham and London.

An investigation found that women had also been trafficked between towns and cities including Preston and Oldham.

Matus was seen by police officers several times while the gang operated between October 2021 and November 2022 in houses with sex workers.

He had been seen with two sex workers at Mincing Lane in Blackburn on August 26, 2021 then on Beverley Road, Bolton, on January 5, 2022.

He was then seen on Mincing Lane again with two sex workers on February 11 that year and again with sex workers in Rose Lane in Preston on August 2, 2022.

Laszlo Matus has now been jailed (Image: NWROCU) The gang was brought down by an investigation by the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit after one of the victims agreed to give evidence.

Mr Donoghue said the crown “couldn’t put a figure on” how much money the gang had made but that this would have been at least between £10,000 and £100,000.

Angyal and Petrovic, both of Fortune Street, confessed to conspiracy to control prostitution for gain at an earlier hearing.

They also both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to arrange or facilitate the travel of another person with a view to their exploitation.

At a sentencing hearing last December Angyal was jailed for seven years and seven months at a hearing back in December last year while Petrovic was jailed for six years and four months.

Attila Angyal was leader of the gang (Image: GMP)

Both were given a ten-year Slavery and Trafficking Prevention Order.

Another man, 45-year-old Mohamed Maravia, of Romford Road, Preston, pleaded guilty to participating in the criminal activities of an organised crime group.

He was sentenced him to two years in prison, suspended for two years and to complete 25 rehabilitation activity requirement days with 200 hours of unpaid work to pay costs of £500. 

When brought to court Matus denied conspiracy to control prostitution for gain and conspiracy to arrange or facilitate travel of another person with a view to exploitation.

He also denied conspiring to conceal, disguise, convert, transfer or remove criminal property.

Melinda Petrovic was jailed last year (Image: GMP) But after a trial earlier this year Matus, of Beverley Road, Heaton, was found guilty of all three counts.

Benjamin Knight, defending, argued that Matus had been “far, far lower” down in the level and cope of the criminal conspiracy.

He said that Matus, an active Jehovah’s Witness who had been homeless in his native Hungary, had no history of other offences in a sexual context.

Mr Knight said the 53-year-old was “something of a pitiful character” who was operating under people with “considerably more power than him”.

But Judge Abigail Hudson reminded the court of the gang’s victims and Matus’s role in exploiting them.

Addressing the defendant, she said: “Having heard the evidence I am sure that you were providing management at the brothels and security on the ground albeit at the direct direction of Mr Angyal and Ms Petrovic.”

Judge Hudson accepted that Matus drew a wage rather than taking a share of the profits but reminded him of the dangers faced by the sex workers he had trafficked.

The traffickers operated across Bolton, Blackburn and elsewhere (Image: NWROCU) She also said the women had ensured “threats of violence from Ms Petrovic” in one woman’s case “actual violence from Mr Angyal” which Matus must have had “some awareness of”.

Judge Hudson said the gang had “created fake debts to keep the ladies enslaved” and turned to a statement saying one of them had been “unable to plan a trip even to local shops”.

She said that crimes like these “caused profound harm to the most vulnerable and desperate members of our society”.

Judge Hudson jailed Matus for seven years.

After the hearing, Detective Sergeant Jamie Illingworth of the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit (NWROCU), said: “Laszlo Matus was a trusted enabler of this criminal enterprise, ensuring the victims remained under control and continued to generate profit for the ringleaders.

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“His conviction and sentencing mark another significant step in dismantling this network and securing justice for the victims.

“We are grateful for the bravery of the women who came forward and the tireless work of our officers and partners.

“This case demonstrates our continued commitment to tackling modern slavery and protecting those most at risk.”

NWROCU says that the victims, all Hungarian nationals, are receiving ongoing support.

CPS North West prosecutor Alan Richardson said: “Laszlo Matus played a key part in a sophisticated operation to sexually exploit and traffic women by coercing them and facilitating their travel across the country so that they’d carry out sexual acts with strangers for money.

“Matus appeared to be living with the women, monitoring their daily movements and received direct payments in exchange for the services provided by the women.

“Now all their exploiters have been brought to justice, I hope the women can begin to move on with their lives.”

Source – INDIA TV