A MAN has been cleared of being involved in a in a conspiracy which saw Romanian women trafficked to Lancashire and forced to work as prostitutes by a gang of Eastern European men.

At the start of the eight-day trial at Preston Crown Court prosecutor Katherine Pierpoint had told the jury how eight men had already pleaded guilty to the conspiracy and it was up to them to decide whether a ninth man had played any role in exploiting the women.

That man was Claudiu-Nicusor Vlaescu, 31, of Pine Street, Blackburn, who had always denied conspiring to arrange or facilitate the travel of another with a view to exploitation.

And a jury unanimously found him not guilty following an eight-day trial at Preston Crown Court.

The court had heard how the women, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were driven to the homes of punters or hotels and earned £120-per-hour for working in the sex trade. But they had to pay half of that to the leader of the gang. One woman is said to been forced to have sex with up to 30 men in one month.

Ms Pierpoint said the gang was headed up by a man named ‘Mr Mitru’ and there were other men who played other roles within the ‘infrastructure’.

When arrested by the police Vlaescu said he was in the country to visit family and was also looking at the possibility of buying ice cream vans to take back to Romania. He said he had a good job in Romania and had never been involved in prostitution in any way.

Defending Vlaescu, Joe Boyd said his client denied being part of any conspiracy and had not attempted to control or exploit any woman.

That was a view shared by the jury who returned a not guilty verdict following less than five hours of deliberations.

The men who have pleaded guilty to conspiring to arrange or facilitate the travel of another with a view to exploitation are set to be sentenced later this year.

They include: Ionut Cosmin Dogaru, 29, of Pine Street, Blackburn; Traian Gavrila, 30, of no fixed address; Adrian Marian Diaconu, 26, of Arborfield Close, Slough; Alexandru Peter Baltoiu, 25, of Margarets Road, Evesham, Worcestershire; Razvan Florinel Mitru, 30, of Arkwright Road, Preston; Alexandru Alexandru Pitigoi, 24, of Waterside, Evesham, Worcestershire; and Marius Ciprian Trasca, 30, of Watt Street, Gateshead.