From: Exit Staff
Italian police have arrested 11 suspects for kinapping and forcing young Albanian girls into prostitution, according to reports in Italian media.
The vice ring was active in Emilia, Valsamoggia, and parts of Bologna, according to the authorities. The 11 individuals have been charged with a range of offences including kidnapping, exploitation, aiding and abetting prostiutition, rape and sexual violence, and stalking. The arrests come after over a year of investigations coordinated by Bologna’s prosecutor’s office.
The discovered the ring had been recruiting very young Albanian women and girls. Those arrested are Italian and Albanian and were linked to three apartments in Bologna that were also seized.
The investigation started in November last year when an Albanian citizen was arrested for attempted kidnapping as well as recruiting and exploiting a young Albanian girl. She had been trying to escape from her captors when the police were alerted. The suspect was tailed and arrested on a flight back to Albania with EUR 7285 on him.
Over the following months, more young victims were discovered. Italian citizens had even married some of them to allow them to receive a residence permit. They were then trafficked and sold both on the streets and in apartments.
Albania is a top source country for the trafficking of human beings, in particular girls and women. Meanwhile, the government has been criticised by the US State Department and others, for not doing enough to tackle the issue, or protect vulnerable individuals.
