Londonderry: Man jailed for keeping a brothel and suppling drugs

The case was heard at Londonderry Crown Court, sitting in Coleraine

A man has been jailed after admitting keeping a brothel in Londonderry.

Catalin Constantin Diaconu, 30, of Ferguson Street in Derry, admitted to brothel keeping on dates between 6 August and 25 October 2021.

He also pleaded guilty to a charge concerning the the supply of cocaine in 2021.

The court heard police attended an address in Derry and spoke to a woman who said she paid £350 a week for the property and gave massages.

The woman also told police that she was on a number of escorts websites.

Londonderry Crown Court, sitting in Coleraine, was told Diaconu was later located by police and initially denied any knowledge of what was happening at the address.

He later admitted that he had been supplying the address for the woman to work.

His phone was seized and a message relating to the supply of cocaine was found.

Defence counsel Eoghan Devlin said his client - who is originally from Romania - was entitled to full credit due to his attitude towards the charge.

He said that there was no suggestion of coercion and he fully accepted his culpability.

Passing sentence, Judge Neil Rafferty described Diaconu an active participant in the setting up of the address for the woman.

The judge imposed a sentence of 12 months, with half of the sentence spent in custody and half on licence.

He said the cocaine charge was one of "casual supply" and imposed a six month sentence to run concurrently.

The court also heard Diaconu could now face deportation proceedings following the sentence.