They went straight from the Romanian countryside into prostitution. According to the traffickers, Amsterdam was paradise. But the girls were dumped there with five or six at a time on a property, after which they were exploited to the bone. This is according to an investigation by the National Criminal Investigation Department into the escort industry.

From now on, clients visiting a prostitute will have to find out for themselves whether she is registered and therefore over 21. That will be regulated in the new prostitution law that the House of Representatives will vote on March 22. There will probably be a telephone information point where prostitutes can check data. Those who do not do so risk a fine of 7,600 euros if the woman is underage, forced or a victim of exploitation. Critics fear that prostitutes will go into hiding in the Many women do not want all kinds of agencies to find out that they are 'in the business'. Now that is mainly known to the tax authorities. In the future, all sex businesses must have a license. In many municipalities nothing is currently regulated for escort businesses, so there is little visibility (and grip) on abuses.

'Does she have big headlights?' 'Does it need a lot of plan wall?' These code questions were standard practice for Romanian human traffickers who offered prostitutes for the Dutch market. They sold women as if they were cars. If it included a `trailer,' a child, the prostitute earned less than the usual two thousand euros. These are painful, so far unknown details from a major police investigation into human trafficking in the escort industry. Experts have been warning of abuses for years. These prove difficult to prove in this mobile, elusive sector. But now they have succeeded.

The traffickers recruited young women in the Romanian countryside, in the Botosani region. `These girls earn 200 euros a month there. That is what you get in the Netherlands for one evening's work, so they were told,' said Pel Timmer, team chief at the National Criminal Investigation Department. He leads the investigation into the gang, which in January resulted in taking the site of Amsterdam-based Pleasure-escort off the air.

Soon the women discovered that their dream was a nightmare, says Detective Caroline, who prefers not to have her last name in the newspaper. `The girls had to work for escort companies six, seven days a week, regardless of whether they had their period or a venereal disease. If they came home in the middle of the night and a customer called, they had to go out again.'' The leaders of the Dutch branch of the organization were Romanians C.A. and Gheorge 0. They moonlighted in the car trade, a convenient cover during conversations with their suppliers. A. and 0. housed the women in a house in Amsterdam, five or six at a time. A more experienced prostitute arranged work with escort companies.

It was hell. Often there was a kind of guard there, a prostitute who made sure everyone answered her work phone," Caroline says. let the phone ring too long, got fined by the pimps. Those also got for talking to girls from other escort businesses, secretly making personal calls on your phone, revealing your whereabouts and entering into a relationship with an rI12 you name it. An offense will cost you a thousand to three thousand etu

Everyone in the house could give you away. Although a customer paid 150 euros for an hour, the prositituee had to hand over 100 euros to, the escort company and the driver. Then the pimps demanded 25 euro c Per client only 25 euro ov That amount compulsorily disappeared into `joint pot' of the house, c the pimps used to pay the htu food, drinks and condoms from. Sometimes women were left with little to do their `penalties'.

The hope of earning much ble vain, said prosecutor ner ten Kate of the national park
'It was calculated what a girl p year earned:m thousand euros.

'Cindy,' woman from life
The thrill, the money and the freedom
She thinks about quitting every day. Working as an escort is tough and sometimes dangerous. But Cindy is addicted to the excitement From one `blind date' after another. More importantly, this is the only way she can earn a `very well above average income'. Cindy (`That's my working name') reacts skeptically to the new prostitution law, which is supposed to prevent abuses. `Customers will be required to check whether prostitutes have a license. Well, reckon no customer would turn me away if I didn't have one. He just looks to see if I have nice tits.' It is difficult to arrange an interview with victims of human trafficking in the escort industry. They are too afraid to talk to journalists, or they have no interest in media attention. It takes time and scares off clients. For Cindy, the situation is different. She is not a victim, but she would like to talk about the way the government deals with the industry and her own intense experiences.

'I am an independent escort operator because I want to choose when I visit clients. I don't feel like giving up half my income. However, I always have a driver transport me, who waits outside and can help if necessary. We have a fixed arrangement: when I go into a customer's house, he calls after five minutes and asks if everything is okay. Sometimes it's not, because I regularly have customers who get off on violence. Then I can let him know with a kind of code that he should be alert, or storm in. With a touch of my phone, I can have him listen in.' 'There is a lot wrong in this industry. There are wrong entrepreneurs operating. But you cannot deter them with rules that cannot be enforced, such as a mandatory escort license.

`This work is very lucrative, qualifications are hardly necessary. A phone number and an advertisement, that's all. On the Internet, people can get away with almost anything.' She does have an escort license herself. 'I have my own site, the police can find me much easier. When they threatened me with a fine, I gave in. I had to fill out 40 pages of forms and pay 1,700 euros, for three years. They supposedly do that to fight abuses, but when I offered to come and meet them, the municipality didn't want to. It's pure money-grubbing. Fortunately I can spare it: for an hour of escort work I get 150 euros, sometimes more. `Money was the reason for becoming a prostitute. I was always crazy about sex. By now I am addicted to the excitement. You have to have a twinge in your hoof, but this work makes me feel alive. `With an office job, you always know in advance that you will come home. When I go to a client, I never know. I'm constantly surviving.' Many men have two faces. 'At first they are friendly or polite, but during sex their testosterone takes over, then they behave boorishly.'I sometimes shout, 'hello, I'm here too.' They treat me as a sex doll, which is bad for my self-esteem. 'I've tried to quit four times already. But this is the only way to make a good living. Still, it's an expiring business, because I'm already a few years over 34.'Fortunately, I have many clients who choose me because I can have one-level conversation. They book me for a dinner date, 350 euros. Then sex is often of secondary importance.'