HELLENIC POLICE HEADQUARTERS
Athens, February 18th, 2023
Statements on the dismantling of a transnational criminal organization engaged in the trafficking in and exploitation of foreign women from Latin America
Statement by the Director of the Attica Security Police Directorate Brigadier General Mr. Ioannis SKOURAS:
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good morning.
We have invited you here today to present to you an important operation, which dealt a major blow to organized human trafficking rings.
Specifically, the Organized Crime and Trafficking in Human Beings Sub-Directorate of the Attica Security Police Directorate, following a thorough and systematic investigation, has been able to dismantle a transnational criminal organization engaged in the trafficking of women, mainly from Latin America, for the purpose of sexual and financial exploitation.
In this regard, in the evening of February 16, 2023, in the Attica Region, eight (8) members of the aforementioned organization were arrested, the call center they used for their activities was detected, and fifteen (15) women victims, nationals of Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela and Morocco, were rescued and provided with assistance and protection.
The criminal ring was dismantled with the assistance of the National Police and Immigration Service of Colombia, the US Homeland Security Investigations / HSI (US Embassy in Athens), as well as the non-governmental organizations “OUR GREECE” and “Α21”, which specialize in the provision of assistance and protection to human trafficking victims.
It was undoubtedly a difficult operation that required methodical investigation and very delicate handling. For this reason, I would like to thank the officers of the Hellenic Police, the US and the Colombian authorities, as well as the representatives of the aforementioned NGOs for their harmonious cooperation and decisive assistance, which allowed us to bring the offenders to justice and provide assistance to the victims of the criminal organization.
And now, I will give the floor to Police Captain Ms. Konstantia DIMOGLIDIS, Press Spokesperson of the Hellenic Police, who will give you more details about the case.
Thank you.
Statement by the Press Spokesperson of the Hellenic Police (Police Captain Ms. Konstantia DIMOGLIDIS):
Good morning.
As already stated by the Director of the Attica Security Police Directorate, the Organized Crime and Trafficking in Human Beings Sub-Directorate has successfully dismantled a transnational criminal organization that has been engaged in the trafficking in and sexual exploitation of foreign women since at least May 2022.
A special operational plan was prepared for the detection of the victims and the arrest of the organization’s members and, after a coordinated police operation that took place in the evening of Thursday, February 16, 2023, in various areas of the Attica Region, eight (8) members of the criminal organization were arrested -five (5) foreign and three (3) Greek nationals.
A case file was opened against those arrested for the offences of forming a criminal organization and trafficking in human beings. The case file makes reference to three (3) more members of the organization who are still being sought.
All information and data available were utilized in the most appropriate manner for the investigation and resolution of the case, while special investigative techniques were deployed, thus allowing us to confirm the criminal action, the hierarchical structure and the modus operandi of the organization. Specifically, the members of the organization:
- recruited foreign women (from Latin America) in bad financial condition, and paid their travel to our country,
- accommodated them in a hotel in Athens -where they lived in dire conditions- and kept them under constant surveillance,
- forced them to engage in sexual activities with “clients” for money during appointments arranged by an office operating through a website.
The investigation also established the role of each member of the organization:
- a 37-year-old man was responsible for operating the office, coordinating all its activities and assigning specific duties to each employee,
- a 40-year-old man, a 33-year-old man and a 31-year-old man were responsible for driving the victims to their appointments and receiving the money paid by the clients,
- a 62-year-old hotel owner was responsible for providing accommodation to the victims and rooms for their sexual encounters with the “clients”,
- the remaining six (6) members were responsible for operating the call centre, through which they arranged the appointments; one (1) of them (a woman) was responsible for the supervision and the overall operation of the office.
The operation of the call centre is also of interest, as the call operators (all of them women) informed the potential clients of the website where they could see the “profiles” of the women available for prostitution and presented to them the various options as to the place of the appointment.
Due to the special nature of the offences investigated, it was deemed necessary to request the assistance and presence of representatives from the National Police and Immigration Service of Colombia (Policía Nacional de Colombia), the US Homeland Security Investigations / HSI (US Embassy in Athens), and the non-governmental organizations “OUR GREECE” and “Α21”, which specialize in the provision of assistance and protection to human trafficking victims. In fact, the Head of the Colombian mission, who was invited through the communication channel of Interpol’s NCB in Athens (International Police Cooperation Division / Hellenic Police Headquarters), was the Director of Colombia’s Crime Investigation Service and Interpol’s NCB.
In this context, parallel covert operations were carried out in three (3) hotels, where fifteen (15) women, victims of the criminal organization, were detected. The head of the organization, the three (3) drivers, who had already driven the women to the appointments of the day, and their four (4) accomplices (the call operators and the hotel owner) were also arrested.
It is noted that the call centre was fully equipped and used as front a construction company owned by the 37-year-old head of the organization; it is also noted that the head of the organization was regularly informed, either over the phone or in person, about the organization’s activities and intervened, when necessary, to solve any issues that arose.
During the search carried out in the three (3) hotels and another place of interest, the following items were found and seized:
- 19,450 euros,
- 2,510 US dollars,
- 4 cars,
- a GLOCK type pistol, with a 9 mm 16-round magazine,
- 16 cell phones,
- PCs and laptops,
- mobile storage devices,
- a banknote counting machine,
- surveillance recorders
- a large number of documents and handwritten notes.
The persons arrested, along with the case file against them, were brought before the competent Prosecuting Authorities, while the fifteen (15) rescued women, victims of the criminal organization, were provided with due assistance and protection.
Thank you.
