Russia has arrested eight suspected members of a human-trafficking ring that sold “hundreds of girls” into sexual slavery in Italy, Spain and Greece.
Members of the group, headed by a woman from the Kostroma region in central Russia, earned at least €2,000 per girl, the Russian prosecutor general’s office said yesterday.
Another six members of the ring were arrested abroad, Russia’s state-run RIA Novosti news service said, citing the Federal Security Service, the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB.
An additional 20 people were identified as part of the group, according to RIA.
The United Nations estimates 250,000 victims are trafficked to Europe each year, most of whom are exploited sexually.
Women are often offenders as well as victims. The percentage of women convicted of trafficking is higher than for all other crimes, according to the UN. – (Bloomberg)