South American man banked over £150,000 by trafficking sex workers

South American man banked more than £150,000 after trafficking women between flats in Scotland for prostitution.

Jose Barbosa, 44, used an alias, a Spanish ID card and a fake employer’s letter to rent out properties short term which he would sub-let to women.

A court heard that in August 2013 police had intelligence that Barbosa, using the alias of Alexander Marques, was involved in organised prostitution in Scotland.

Depute advocate Mark McGuire said there was no evidence that the women had been coerced into prostitution and the trafficking was restricted to taking them between addresses.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard that Barbosa, a Brazilian, who lived on Mill Street, Kirkcaldy, had been given permission by the Irish authorities to study in their country up until next year.

Barbosa had earlier admitted arranging and facilitating the movement of women for prostitution between August 2013 and May this year and transferring criminal property, but his case was sent by a sheriff to the High Court.

The judge, Lord Matthews, deferred sentence on Barbosa, who is in custody, until later this month at the High Court in Glasgow.