A man arrested by the Greek authorities on Friday for trafficking in women is suspected of Islamic terrorism, reported the electronic edition of Kathimerini.
On Friday, with the help of international police cooperation channels, Greek police broke up a women’s trafficking ring consisting of two criminal organizations. During the large-scale operation, authorities arrested 22 people in Athens and Thessaloniki, including 11 members of the organization and 11 brothel staff. 51 women were rescued from the site, of which 48 Colombians, 2 Venezuelans and 1 Albanian, who were then given help and protection.
The suspected man is a foreigner from the Middle East, who in recent years has been at the center of an investigation by Greek security services following information implicating him in links to the activities of the Islamic State. The man co-owns a night club in Athens with an Albanian, also accused in the women’s trafficking case.
According to the newspaper, the Middle Eastern man arrived in Greece after escaping from prison, but this has not been confirmed by Greek police.
The proceeds of the criminal network were laundered through restaurants and a real estate firm owned by a 71-year-old woman with a long criminal history of human trafficking, known in the underworld as “Marina.”
Associates of the organization persuaded young girls to work in Greece with the promise of high wages, but instead took away their travel documents and sold them, keeping their share of the proceeds.
The authorities estimate that the profits reached 160,000 euros per month, reports the Greek television “Sky”.
Illustrative Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/santorinni-greece-during-daytime-161275/
