A criminal organization that engaged in recruitment under the guise of escort and blackmail of young women for sex services in Ukraine and abroad has been liquidated in Ukraine, 34 searches have been conducted in Kyiv, and 11 perpetrators have been notified of suspicion of pimping and human trafficking, the National Police and the Prosecutor General's Office reported on Tuesday, UNN writes.
Girls aged 18-25 were hired for a high fee to accompany men at public events (escort). When several such meetings took place without problems and the victims lost their vigilance, the perpetrators gave them new "clients" who paid the organizers for sexual services and forcibly engaged in sexual relations with the women. If the victim did not agree to such a format of cooperation, her photo with personal data was posted in a closed Telegram channel providing sexual services, which is subscribed to by 60,000 users. To remove the profile, it was necessary to continue cooperation with the criminal organization on their terms
Details
According to the police, the scheme operated in all major regional centers of Ukraine and Poland and "brought the organizers at least five million hryvnias per month, calculations were carried out exclusively through wallets."
"According to preliminary data, at least 50 Ukrainian girls have been affected by the actions of the perpetrators," the statement said.
It is stated that criminal police officers identified 11 members of the criminal organization together with two organizers and two co-organizers from Kyiv.
Police officers conducted 34 authorized searches on the territory of the city of Kyiv, during which they seized telephones and computer equipment with evidence of the crimes committed.
Police investigators have notified two organizers, two co-organizers and seven members of the criminal organization of suspicion of creating, managing and participating in a criminal organization (Article 255, Part 1, Article 255, Part 2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine), human trafficking (Article 149, Part 3 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) and pimping or involvement of a person in prostitution (Article 303, Part 3 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
According to the Prosecutor's Office, the suspects were detained, and they were given a preventive measure in the form of detention with an alternative of bail from 3 to 10 million UAH, and three of them - house arrest.
The defendants face up to fifteen years of imprisonment with confiscation of property.
For reference
The type of business that formally provides effective companions to wealthy clients for appearing with them at events (business meetings, charity balls and travels) is called escort services.