Kosovo: Prostitution as a New Organized Crime Sideline

Published: 21 June 2013

By OCCRP

Organized crime in Kosovo has expanded to include prostitution, the Kosovo daily newspaper, Botasot, reported Wednesday.

Mafia bosses are recruiting local Kosovar-Albanian women into their operation.

More than 10 women who live in the Emshir neighborhood of the capital, Prishtina, work in a Motel-Restaurant located in the village of Henc, along the Prishtina-Pec highway. “Shows” are put on every night after 10 p.m., where women sing and dance around customers. The “boss” sits in one corner of the room while other bosses motion to him to purchase a prostitute, for which they pay a very high price.

In the past, women were trafficked across borders into Kosovo and other Balkan states. Balkan states have faced increased pressure from the European Union to combat organized crime and corruption, and to protect their borders. Mafia bosses have resorted to recruiting local victims, the OCCRP reported in August 2012.