Police found a sex trafficking suspect hiding in the Keys. He was wanted by Interpol
A man wanted by Interpol for sex trafficking in Romania was found hiding out in the Lower Keys, police said.
Catalin Aionesei Lupu, 51, was caught Saturday by Monroe County sheriff’s deputies who were checking out a report of people squatting at a home on Sugarloaf Key.
Lupu was turned over to U.S. Border Patrol agents, who came to the 17000 block of Jamaica Lane to take him into custody, said Adam Linhardt, spokesman for the sheriff’s office.
Lupu is accused of forcing women and girls into prostitution in Romania and was wanted on an international warrant.
The case began when a real estate agent who suspected trespassers were inside the home called deputies to ask them to check it out.
Sgt. David Lariz went to the home at 1 a.m. Saturday. A 2016 Honda Odyssey minivan parked outside and the back sliding glass door was open.
Lariz spotted food and water on a kitchen counter and called for backup.
While Lariz was waiting for other deputies to arrive, a man later identified as Lupu emerged from one of the bedrooms and Lariz took him into custody.
A 49-year-old man was found sleeping in another bedroom.
Deputies quickly learned Lupu was wanted by Romanian authorities and Interpol, the international police organization, and also that Lupu was in the U.S. illegally.
Lupu had an ID card that listed an address on Chablis Drive in Boca Raton. The 49-year-old man had an ID listing a Miami address.
“There were no women, minors or anyone else in the residence other than Lupu and the other man,” Linhardt said.
The other man was not arrested. Police gave him a ride to the emergency overnight homeless shelter on Stock Island
This story was originally published February 3, 2020 at 3:24 PM with the headline "Police found a sex trafficking suspect hiding in the Keys. He was wanted by Interpol."
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