Trafficking ring busted, eight arrested

Police announced on Monday the arrest of eight people accused of setting up an escort agency to sexually exploit women from Latin America.

The suspects are accused of deceiving women who arrived in Greece to work as prostitutes but ended up being sex slaves locked up in a hotel. Police launched the investigation last summer after an anonymous call to a helpline run by a nonprofit organization.

The suspects – identified by the police as seven Albanian nationals and one Egyptian – were arrested last Thursday. The victims were told they would be paid 5,000 euros per month, regardless of the number of sexual encounters, and that they would work as many hours as they wished.

However, in reality, the women found themselves in a veritable hostage situation in a hotel on Athens’ Syngrou Avenue. For any movement outside the hotel the women had to receive permission and they were forced to work from 11 a.m. to 6 a.m. the next day. If they refused to have intercourse with a client, they were force to pay the racket compensation.

The prostitutes were in the country on three-month visas.