A court has recognized the evidence gathered by the Kostroma Region investigating bodies of the Russia’s Investigative Committee sufficient to convict eight residents of the cities of Kostroma, Moscow, Vladivostok, Nakhodka, Tambov and the Belgorod Region. Depending on the role of each one, they were found guilty of crimes under part 2 of article 127.1 of the RF Penal Code (human trafficking), part 3 of article 30, part 5 of article 33, part 2 of article 127.1 (attempted and complicity in human trafficking).
The court and investigators found that the accused sold women abroad for their further sexual exploitation. They selected and recruited young women, explaining them that in Western Europe they could make a lot of money by so-called consummation and providing payable sexual services to the clients of fleshpots. Then they made documents so that women could leave the country and paid for the fare, which made women get into bondage. Then the victims went to the foreign countries as tourists and got to the ownership of clients in Spain and Greece, where they had to prostitute, to pay the debts, which grew higher due to the need to pay for accommodation and food.
After short-term tourist visas expired, the victims were staying in those countries illegally, which made them more dependent on the owners of fleshpots. Consummation was a cover for the main exploitation of the victims – prostitution. The money, the administration of fleshpots got from sexual exploitation of the women, was much more than they made on selling alcohol to clients.
Over the period of their activity in 2006-2009, the accused sold and attempted to sell at least 16 women. From selling one woman the defendants got between 1 and 2 thousand euros by transfers through international payment systems.
The court has given the men suspended sentences between 3 and 7.5 years.
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