Albanians jailed for human-trafficking in Britain

A court on Thursday jailed two Albanian men for their part in trafficking a Lithuanian woman and making her work in British brothels.

Akil Likani, 20, of Cardiff, Wales and Gjergj Mungiovi-Kuka, 19, of Caldicot, England, had both been convicted earlier of trafficking within the United Kingdom for sexual exploitation.

Likani, who was described by the 21-year-old woman as the leader of a trio of men responsible for bringing her to Cardiff, was also convicted of controlling a prostitute for gain.

At Cardiff Crown Court on Thursday, Likani was sentenced to six years in a young offenders' institution for trafficking, with another four-year sentence, to run simultaneously, for controlling a prostitute for gain. Mungiovi-Kuka got four years in a young offenders' institute. They had pleaded guilty to the charges.

"This trade has been described as the 21st century's form of slavery. What it involves is the degradation of an individual, the exploitation of that individual; degradation and exploitation to a high degree," the AP quoted Judge Sir David Richards as saying.

V.Y.