At least 11 women from the Republic of Moldova, three of whom were minors, were recruited and sexually exploited in Greece. Recruiters knew that victims, were from vulnerable families and promised that they would work as sales persons in a clothing store, with a salary of one thousand euros. Being forced to sell themselves in clandestine brothels in Athens, young women were monitored, including through video cameras. The information was presented at a press conference, organized on Thursday, October 24, IPN reports.
Artur Degteariov, the interim head of the Center for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, stated that "La Strada" Center received a call from a person who said that his daughter was in danger. Namely, she was kept in a place in the city of Athens, being exploited in the sexual industry. In the course of investigations, it was established that this was a criminal group consisting of recruiters from the Republic of Moldova and Albania. They made the victims false Romanian identity documents, as well as fake marriages with Greek citizens. The head of the group is a 36-year-old Albanian, working with 14 other people from Albania, Greece, Ukraine, Germany, Bulgaria, including four citizens from the Republic of Moldova. They are a man and three women between the ages of 28 and 31.
The victims were recruited from the Republic of Moldova, and then transported and sexually exploited in ten brothels in Athens, administered by members of the criminal group, of Albanian origin. "Each of the victims was forced to serve between 25 and 80 clients daily, with sexual services being provided for ten minutes per person. Each client paid the amount of 20 euros. From the obtained income, every exploited young woman received 15 euros per shift, whereas the rest of the financial sources were distributed among the members of the criminal group”, noted Artur Degteariov.
Nadejda Barbalat, prosecutor in the Prosecutor's Office for Combating Organized Crime and Special Cases, said that two criminal cases were initiated, which were subsequently linked in a single procedure. Three injured parties were examined at this stage, one of them being under age. The Moldovan who recruited her has the status of accused and is being detained. He is part of the criminal group since 2015, linked to the head of the group. During the searches in Athens, at the homes of traffickers, but also in the clandestine brothels, the amount of 70 thousand euros, cars, narcotic substances, etc. were detected. 15 people were detained, and six of them were placed under arrest. Three of the 11 victims identified in Athens were returned to the country, while the others received assistance in Greece. Also, searches were carried out at the suspect's home in Moldova, where two weapons and ammunition were found.
In this case, multiple offences, including the set-up of a criminal group, trafficking in children and trafficking in human beings have been established, perpetrators risking even life imprisonment.
Alina Calugher, lawyer at "La Strada" Center, has urged the population, if they know or suspect exploitation cases, to call the hot line for safe migration and anti-trafficking 0 800 77777. People are urged to call this number before leaving to work abroad to make sure that they have taken all safety measures.
