Greece dismantles sex trafficking ring targeting Colombian women

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece has dismantled a criminal group that trafficked Colombian women to Greece and forced them to perform sex work at apartments and strip clubs, police said.

Police this week arrested the alleged leader and eight members of the sex trafficking ring which has been operating since at least 2019, police said in a statement.

In total, 29 women have been offered protection and support, police said, adding the operation was assisted by non-governmental organisations.

The women were promised jobs as strip club dancers in Greece on high incomes.

Instead, their identification documents were confiscated upon arrival. They were held in apartments in Athens and worked at two night clubs, owned by the suspected crime ring leader, where they were forced to have sex with clients to pay off debts the suspects claimed they owed, police said.

Police launched the investigation based on the testimony of one of the victims. They raided the apartments, the suspects' homes and the strip clubs and confiscated cash, knives, bullets and documents related to the group's activities.

Two more men, including one living in Colombia, have been identified as members of the crime ring and remain at large, police said.

(Reporting by Yannis Souliotis; Writing by Renee Maltezou; Editing by Christina Fincher)

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