A 25-year-old woman identified as playing a key role in luring minors into prostitution has been detained and placed behind bars.
The remaining four arrested were released with restrictive conditions. In addition, a decision regarding the accused’s boyfriend is still awaited. The couple faces charges of pimping minors, trafficking minors and drug trafficking.
Maria, who is called the “leader” of the pimp gang, put forward her version to the journalists of the Mega channel, saying that she had nothing to do with it, and the girls themselves made appointments with clients. “Everything they tell you is a lie, it’s not my fault. The girls are my friends. I’m friends with both of them, I don’t know the rest,” she said. When asked how they could find “clients,” she replied: “From Facebook. They did it themselves. Nobody involved them anywhere.”
As Athens News previously wrote, the police recently “caught” a pimping network for the sexual exploitation of minors. Authorities arrested four people, two men and two young women, for “human trafficking.” The arrested arranged “dates” with seven underage girls whom they subjected to sexual exploitation. According to a statement by the Greek police: “In the context of an investigation into a case of forced prostitution of minors in hotels in the center of Athens, a police operation was carried out. The actions took place over two days, from 17 to 18 March 2024, in the areas of Vironas and Egaleo, as well as in the squares of Attica and Omonia. During operational actions, four citizens were identified and arrested. All of them are accused of systematic human trafficking.”
The girl was additionally charged with drug trafficking. Since the summer of 2023, she has recruited seven minor girls who have reached the age of 14, having previously established friendly relations with them. The “mother’s” partner, a tattoo artist, facilitated their meetings with clients. And he “used” them himself (the girls offered themselves to him for a free tattoo).
The pimp, as expected, received part of the money from the meetings, and often accompanied the youngsters herself. Moreover, in some cases, instead of money, she supplied the victim of sexual exploitation with drugs. Women took girls to hotels in their cars. Digital evidence and a small amount of drugs were seized during the operation. The detainees were taken to the prosecutor’s office.
According to preliminary information, advertisements promoting girls on social networks deliberately left hints about their immature age. The price for rapist clients was 200-400 euros. And the pimps took their “penny” – about 50 euros from the “visit”.
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