Albanian police (archive picture). Picture: Geri Emiri/BIRN
A bunch of suspected human traffickers, who had trafficked over 50 girls, have been arrested in Albania and Colombia because of cooperation between the Albanian and Colombian authorities, it was introduced on Friday by Eurojust, the European Union Company for Felony Justice Cooperation.
Eurojust stated the group had created a human trafficking community with a purpose to recruit susceptible girls from Colombia for sexual exploitation in Europe.
“When the susceptible girls arrived in Albania, they had been pressured into prostitution. The legal group used on-line escort platforms to take advantage of the ladies throughout Europe. The group is believed to have pressured over 50 victims into prostitution,” a Eurojust assertion stated.
“Any girls who refused to work had been held in opposition to their will and threatened with violence in opposition to their households in Colombia. A resort in Tirana was reworked to forcefully detain and sexually exploit the ladies,” it added.
Ten suspected human traffickers had been arrested in Colombia and 7 in Albania, Tirana Police stated that two different persons are needed by the authorities. Police stated the investigations began in February and are nonetheless “ongoing”.
Human trafficking and poor therapy of international employees is widespread in Albania. In line with a US State Division report on human trafficking printed on September 29, “traffickers use social media to recruit potential victims and promote business intercourse via cell phone functions and on-line platforms.
“In 2024, traffickers exploited international victims in intercourse trafficking and labour trafficking in building from Afghanistan, Belarus, Brazil, Cameroon, China, Colombia, Egypt, Kosovo, Nigeria, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Thailand, Ukraine, and Venezuela,” the US State Division added.
BIRN requested the Albanian Police in regards to the complete variety of girls who had been trafficked to Albania for intercourse work previously two years however didn’t obtain a solution by the point of publication.
