Search warrants obtained by WCNC Charlotte show the case is now taking a different direction as police investigate possible connections to drug and human trafficking
www.wcnc.com
A needle in a haystack': New warrants provide glimmer of hope that Madalina Cojocari is alive
Search warrants obtained by WCNC Charlotte show the case is now taking a different direction as police investigate possible connections to drug and human trafficking.
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The revelation Diana Cojocari had asked a distant family member
to help “smuggle” her and her daughter away from her husband adds a new element to the investigation.
According to the U.S. State Department, 41% of human trafficking experiences are facilitated by family members.
“That does change the dynamic,” M. Quentin Williams, a former FBI agent not involved in the case said.
From the start of the investigation, Cojocari maintained that she did not know where her daughter was.
“We all know if we don’t recover someone in the first 24 hours the trail starts getting colder and colder,” Roy Taylor, a law enforcement consultant also not involved in this case, said.
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“I would be working closely with the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and comparing the names that we have and developed in this investigation with people that are known associates,” Taylor said.
It broadens the investigation but also presents new challenges.
“Now we can start looking, doing a Venn diagram of family members and known associates and friends and their involvement in drugs, so it gives another investigative tool and gives more hope that the young girl is still alive,” Taylor said. “Maybe she was able to be smuggled to another area with family or friends who can keep her safe so that’s our hope, but we just don’t know.”
Both Taylor and Williams said untangling the web of a human trafficking ring can be extremely tedious and difficult.
“It’s a needle in a haystack,” Williams said.
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There is more at the link.