Police dismantled a sex trafficking ring reportedly operating in the areas of Attica and Corinth after a well-coordinated sting. According to the police report, the leader of the ring and two other members were arrested during the law enforcement sting on Wednesday, March 12.

The three suspects were subsequently charged with involvement in a criminal organization, human trafficking, sex trafficking, forgery, and violation of relevant immigration and firearms laws.

The ring engaged in the trafficking and sexual exploitation of women from Latin America and Eastern Europe.

The police investigation uncovered a well-structured criminal network operating since at least December 2022.

According to the police report, the sex trafficking ring would recruit, transport, and traffic vulnerable foreign women, forcing them into prostitution in four brothels in Attica and two in Corinthia.

Police said the criminal group had established a debt-bondage-relation with the victims. The second-in-command would lure the women using a false identity, promising them legal employment in Greece. After arranging their travel expenses, he created a financial dependency, forcing them to repay the “debt” through sex work.

Upon arrival, victims were housed in apartments in various Athens suburbs before being forcefully taken to brothels.

To create a façade of legality, the traffickers forged professional licenses for sex workers and fake health booklets. They also falsified medical examinations, using counterfeit signatures and seals from a dermatologist-venereologist of the General Directorate of Public Health.

During police raids, authorities seized:

  • €23,610 in cash
  • Two vehicles
  • Digital evidence (mobile phones, computers, cameras, and recording devices)
  • Numerous forged professional licenses and five fake health booklets
  • Various documents (handwritten notes on brothel operations, lists of foreign women, tax records, photos, IDs, and financial statements)

The arrested individuals have been referred to the Prosecutor’s Office and are now facing judicial proceedings.