Gretna Green hotel worker accused in 'eunuch making' castration ring to appear at Old Bailey in London

A man who worked at a hotel in Gretna Green is to appear in a London court on Wednesday charged with conspiring to commit grievous bodily harm.

Romanian national Ion Ciucur is allegedly part of a “eunuch maker” ring that hosted a website selling body part removal videos.

He is among nine men – who are aged between 22 and 65 and from London, Surrey, Scotland and Wales – charged with conspiring together and with others to commit grievous bodily harm (GBH) over a six-year period between January 1, 2016, and January 1, 2022.

The alleged offences involve the removal of penises, testicles, penile nerves, castration, and the insertion of needles into genitalia.

Marius Gustavson, 45, of London, and originally from Norway, is said to be the ringleader.

Meanwhile, Ciucur, 29, is said to have been involved in two incidents in the alleged conspiracy to cause GBH.

Two men have previously admitted removing Gustavson’s body parts and broadcasting the footage on his “eunuch maker” website.

Nurse Nathan Arnold, 48, from South Kensington, west London, admitted the partial removal of Gustavson’s nipple in the summer of 2019 and stealing medicine from the hospital where he worked in 2016.

Damien Byrnes, 35, from Tottenham, north London, admitted removing Gustavson’s penis on February 18, 2017.

Arnold and Byrnes pleaded guilty during a hearing at the Old Bailey last month to causing grievous bodily harm with intent to 45-year-old Gustavson.

Arnold also pleaded guilty to the theft of local anaesthetic lidocaine from the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and accepted a further offence of possessing extreme pornography.

The Metropolitan Police have said the charges relate to 13 alleged victims.

Gustavson’s alleged “right-hand man”, Peter Wates, 66, from Croydon in south London, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm between January 1, 2016 and January 1, 2022.

Wates was alleged to have been involved with nine of the 29 incidents.

The three defendants appeared in court in April alongside Gustavson and five other defendants who were not asked to enter pleas.

The defendants are alleged to have performed extreme body modifications, including the removal of penises and testicles.

The procedures were allegedly filmed and uploaded to the “eunuch maker” website Gustavson ran, and subscribers would pay to watch.

Other alleged conspirators are David Carruthers, 60, Janus Atkin, 38, and Ashley Williams, 31 – who are all from Newport in Gwent, South Wales.

Jacob Crimi-Appleby, 22 – from Epsom, Surrey, who is accused of freezing Gustavson’s leg requiring amputation – is charged with causing GBH with intent.

The defendants were arrested after police raids in London, Scotland and South Wales.

The defendants are said to have been part of a society in which people willingly undergo extreme body modification.

The practice is linked to a subculture where men become “nullos” – short for genital nullification – by having their penis and testicles removed.