The police proceeded to crack down on the Latin American women’s trafficking network, arresting 8 members of the organization and releasing 15 women.

Simultaneous operations were carried out in three hotels in different parts of Attica, where 15 female victims of the criminal organization, citizens of Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela and Morocco, were detained in order to locate the victims and detain members of the criminal organization. discovered, while a total of 8 members of the criminal organization were arrested, including 5 foreigners and 3 citizens.

In particular, a 37-year-old man of Albanian origin, who was the leader of the gang, was detained, three more men (aged 40, 33 and 31), who were responsible for transporting the victims and withholding payments. , a 62-year-old man, in whose hotel the sexual encounters with “clients” took place and where the victims lived, and three women who took over the operation of the telephone hub through which they arranged meetings.

In relation to those arrested, a criminal case was opened on the crimes of a criminal organization and human trafficking, as well as three more wanted members of the organization.

Due to the special nature of the crimes being investigated, the assistance and presence of representatives of the National Police of Colombia (Policía Nacional de Colombia) and the Immigration Service of the same country, the US Homeland Security Service (US Embassy in Athens – HSI – National Security Investigations), as well as M.C. ABOUT. “Our Greece” and “A21”, specializing in the assistance and protection of victims of human trafficking.

As it turned out as a result of the investigation, the order of actions of the criminal organization was as follows:

– They recruited foreign women from Latin American countries who faced serious financial problems and transported them to Greece.

– put them in a hotel in Athens, where they lived in poor conditions, fully tracking their movements,

– they forced them to have sex with clients for money they arranged through an agency running an internet site.

Ring members set up a fully equipped call center that used a construction company owned by the 37-year-old leader as a “showcase” where operators informed potential customers of which website they had chosen. must visit to see the “profile” of extradited women, as well as explain the choice of location where the meeting will take place.

The detainees, against whom a criminal case was initiated, were taken to the relevant prosecutor’s offices, and 15 rescued female victims of the criminal organization were provided with appropriate assistance and protection.

Theodorikakos: “Our top priority is fighting human trafficking”

Citizens Protection Minister Takis Theodorikakos stated on this occasion: “Combating human trafficking, modern slave trade, exploitation of people, commercial and sexual exploitation of women is one of the main practical priorities of the Ministry of Citizens. Security and Greek police. This is a question of humanity, justice, culture, respect for a person. It is a matter of absolute observance of the law in Greece and throughout the world. For this reason, I would like to congratulate the Greek police for their excellent cooperation with the security agencies of Colombia and the United States of America. And especially to thank the Embassy of the United States of America for its contribution to the elimination of the international criminal organization. We are effectively continuing our international cooperation to eradicate this modern form of slave trade from Greece.”

Director of the Criminal Investigation Service and Interpol of the Colombian authorities, General Olga Patricia Salazar Sanchez, thanked ELAS for rescuing the victims and providing assistance, while stressing that there was close cooperation between the authorities of the two countries to clarify the case.

In addition, Ms. Sanchez, addressing the head of ELAS, Lieutenant General Konstantinos Skumas, proposed further development of cooperation between the two countries in combating the trafficking and exploitation of women.

For his part, the head of ELAS stressed that “coordinated cooperation between the Greek police, the Colombian and American authorities demonstrates that international agreements, the exchange of information, know-how lead to success and tangible results for the benefit of society as a whole.”

At the same time, he responded to Ms. Sanchez’s suggestion by saying: “I want to emphasize to you, Madam Director, that our cooperation will continue forever so that we can strengthen the level of security between our two countries, Colombia and Greece.”

Finally, the director of Attica Security, Brigadier General Ioannis Skouras, noted that the elimination of this gang dealt a major blow to the organized circles of human trafficking, and stressed that this was undoubtedly a complex operation, which required particularly subtle manipulations to successfully complete and methodological studies were required.

Source: RES-IPE