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Israeli-Canadian women trafficking ring busted
According to suspicions, ring members placed ads in Russian newspapers in Israel offering escort services in Canada
A few months ago, Tel Aviv police detectives noticed ads in Russian newspapers in Israel offering work for women.
Newspaper ad (Courtesy of Israel Police)
The ads said that the work was in escort services in Canada, and offered USD 10,000 a month. Police began investigating the individuals behind the ads, and found that women from the former Soviet Union arrived at the offices, often with an Israeli passport.
When they arrived, they were met by "initiators," who carried out humiliating tests on them, photographed them naked from every angle, and then sent the pictures to Canada.
After a period of time, the Canada-based members of the ring sent answers to the Israeli branch of the network. When a positive answer was received, ring members organized documents, and if needed, passports, and sent the woman to Canada.
'International slave trade'
Police Supervisor Stoklov told Ynet Tuesday morning that "this is an international network for selling women. The network was active in Russia, Israel, Canada, and the United States. This is a slave trade. They take the women and check them, their bodies, like they check slaves."
"We have made arrests in the early morning and are holding three suspects, one of whom is known to us from the women trafficking field, while the other two are not known to us."
The investigation was coordinated with law enforcement agencies in Canada and the US, where arrests are expected shortly.
