A quarter of pimps arrested in Malta were not Maltese, new figures reveal, highlighting the increased involvement of foreigners in the managing of sex workers.
A breakdown of the 44 people held for living off the profits of prostitution since 2008 shows that 11 were foreign nationals.
The figures, tabled in Parliament by Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela earlier this week, showed that six of the 11 foreign pimps were Chinese. Police sources pointed to a possible link between Chinese workers and the “booming” massage industry.
“A number of those Chinese, and other foreigners for that matter, arrested for pimping and prostitution offences were operating through massage parlours. Some of them are only posing as massage parlours,” the sources said.
Rachel Vella, a social worker specialised in sex workers, told the Times of Malta some foreign pimps were taking over from what were traditionally local “managers”.
“We’ve seen over the past few years that Eastern Europeans, in particular, are getting more and more involved in the industry. The bulk of the women are Maltese but foreigners with experience are entering the scene,” she said. Other foreign pimps included two Romanians, a German and a Pole. The number of arrests did not necessarily mean the suspects were no longer roaming the streets.
The figures show that of the 44 arraigned, only one was put behind bars. A 25–year-old Maltese man was sentenced to three months in prison back in 2011.
Fifteen of the offenders were either handed suspended jail sentences or placed under probation and the remaining 27 cases are still pending. One was granted protection.
The ages of the pimps varied and while one Maltese national arraigned was considered a juvenile at 16, the average age was 30. The oldest pimp arrested was aged 72, a Maltese man arraigned in 2012.
Mr Abela also tabled a separate list of figures on prostitution, this time related to sex workers.
About 3,500 workers were arrested for loitering for prostitution purposes. Of these, 20 were foreigners, including a Libyan, two Somalis, a Filipino, four Britons, a Brazilian and a number of Eastern Europeans.
One in every five prostitutes arrested is male, with the vast majority of them being picked up in Ta’ Xbiex, an area increasingly renowned as the island’s male prostitute pick-up point, according to Ms Vella.
The figures show that Ta’ Xbiex accounted for more than half of all the cases on the island, amounting to 1,929. This was followed by Marsa, with 1,357 cases, and Gzira, with 201.