MOSCOW, August 6 (RIA Novosti) - Police in the Kursk Region have completed their investigation into a couple accused of trafficking women to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) over a seven-year period, a press statement said on Thursday.
Police arrested the couple last October as they attempted to smuggle yet another victim out of Russia for use as a sex slave in the Middle Eastern country. Investigators said the couple had been behind the human trafficking ring, involving at least 11 women, from 2001 until 2008.
"In addition to other material evidence, their guilt is confirmed by bank documentation that they received foreign money transfers from abroad," the police statement said.
Police said that during the investigation the couple took part in around 20 identity parades which were recorded on video as evidence.
The criminal case has been referred to a court for trial.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said in a report that human trafficking brings profit of about $32 billion annually.
The true scope of human trafficking is unknown, but around 2.5 million people worldwide are estimated to be held in forced labor, including sex slavery. Sexual exploitation is behind some 80% of all cases of human trafficking.
