Greek police smash S America prostitution ring

ATHENS: Greek police on Saturday said they had cracked a prostitution ring exploiting South American women, freeing over 50 victims and making 22 arrests. Greater Athens police chief Ioannis Skouras told reporters that officers had carried out raids in 13 brothels in Athens and Thessaloniki on Friday, where they freed 48 women from Colombia, two from Venezuela and one from Albania.

The ring consisted of two organisations active in Greece and Colombia for at least three years, added police department spokeswoman Constantia Dimoglidou.

The women had been persuaded to travel to Greece with false promises of well-paid employment, and were forced into round-the-clock prostitution without rest, Skouras said. Dimoglidou said the women were forced to work off alleged debts of between 1,600 and 2,800 euros, which would be reduced if they agreed to recruit other victims back home.