Kazakh Police Arrest Sex Slave Trafficking Gang Suspects

Police in Kazakhstan's largest city, Almaty, announced on January 15 that they have arrested members of a criminal organization that has been forcing women into prostitution and trafficking them abroad.

Police said the sex slave trade gang includes three women from Almaty accused of sending young women to foreign countries from Almaty, from the southeastern city of Taldyqorghan, and from the region's other districts, rferl.org reports.

Authorities said owners and managers of hotels, saunas, and night clubs received payments of $300 to $400 for each young woman they delivered to the trafficking gang.

Police said two of the criminal group's members were arrested while attempting to send women abroad from Taldyqorghan.

They said the third suspect is now abroad and that her arrest was pending.