Human trafficking scheme organizer to stand trial in Donetsk region

Law enforcement officers have detained a suspect, a resident of Kamianske, who recruited women for sexual exploitation in European Union countries.

According to Ukrinform, the Donetsk Regional Prosecutor's Office reported this on Facebook.

It is noted that two perpetrators decided to profit by organizing a human trafficking scheme for the purpose of further sexual exploitation of recruited women abroad.

"Under the guise of legal employment, women were offered work providing intimate services in one of the EU countries. The victims were promised high earnings and assured that such activities were legal. The accomplices distributed roles between themselves beforehand: the suspect recruited women in Ukraine, while her partner met them in the Republic of Poland, provided housing, placed advertisements and searched for clients. The offenders chose victims from frontline areas who were in difficult financial circumstances. They also involved an intermediary, who was promised 100 euros for each recruited person after she began her 'work'," the statement said.

Currently, under the procedural supervision of the Donetsk Regional Prosecutor's Office, one of the suspects, a resident of Kamianske, has been notified of suspicion of recruiting and transporting people for the purpose of exploitation, using the vulnerable condition of the victims, by prior conspiracy by a group of persons (Part 2, Article 149 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The maximum penalty under the article is up to 12 years of imprisonment with confiscation of property. A preventive measure of detention in custody has been chosen for her, with the alternative of posting bail.

As for the other suspect who is currently in Poland, the issue of serving a notice of suspicion in the alleged crime is being decided.

As Ukrinform previously reported, since the start of the full-scale war, the National Police of Ukraine have exposed more than 490 cases of human trafficking.