Story perspectives

BBC Finds Epstein Bought 53 Eurostar Tickets for Trafficking

4/27/2026

Summary

Story summary

BBC investigators identified 53 Eurostar tickets bought by Jeffrey Epstein from 2011 to 2019 for women traveling from France to London.
Epstein kept trafficked women in four Kensington and Chelsea flats, offering rent subsidies, visas and study funding, where six residents testified he forced them to recruit victims.
A second woman complained to UK police in 2020, but no investigation followed, leading lawyer Tessa Gregory to call the inaction staggering.

History

Historical Context

Eurostar began high-speed service through the Channel Tunnel on 14 November 1994, linking London and Paris and quickly becoming a dominant cross-Channel rail operator. By 2025 it had carried over 400 million passengers, with 20 million traveling that year alone. The same route that symbolised European mobility later proved vulnerable to abuse, prompting calls for tighter cross-border monitoring.

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Story summary

BBC investigators identified 53 Eurostar tickets bought by Jeffrey Epstein from 2011 to 2019 for women traveling from France to London.
Epstein kept trafficked women in four Kensington and Chelsea flats, offering rent subsidies, visas and study funding, where six residents testified he forced them to recruit victims.
A second woman complained to UK police in 2020, but no investigation followed, leading lawyer Tessa Gregory to call the inaction staggering.

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