18 October 2011
USA:
• Russian Sex-Trafficking Suspects Pack Orlando Courtroom [Florida]: Eleven members of a suspected
Russian sex-trafficking ring accused of operating in Central Florida will pack into an Orlando courtroom
today.… The suspected ringleader, Roman Caraiman, is the only one of the 12 named in the 27-count
indictment who will not be at trial — because he hasn't been arrested. Earlier this year, Caraiman told the
Orlando Sentinel he fled the United States and was in Europe. He left behind his baby and ex-wife, Tatiana
Belinschi, who will be one of the 11 defendants in the courtroom today. … Caraiman is accused of bringing
people from Russia, and seeking women from other countries to work in the sex trade. Prosecutors say he
used the Internet to recruit non-U.S. citizens to work here. [HSEC-3.10; Date: 18 October 2011; Source:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/crime/os-russian-sex-trafficking-ring-20111018,0,1958065.story]
• Immigrant Dies After Crossing AZ Border; 2 Saved [Arizona]: An illegal immigrant died from exposure
in the southern Arizona desert over the weekend and two others were rescued before succumbing to the
heat, the Border Patrol said Monday. Agents in Nogales in southeastern Arizona found a 26-year-old
Mexican man unconscious in the desert Friday afternoon, Border Patrol spokesman Brent Cagen said. He
was airlifted to a nearby hospital but died Saturday. … These smuggling organizations are just very callous
when bringing people across the border," he said." They have very little regard for human life. If they have
to leave a person, it's a few less dollars in their pocket. On Sunday, agents in Casa Grande saved two
immigrants. [HSEC-3.10; Date: 17 October 2011; Source: http://www.kvoa.com/news/immigrant-dies-after-
crossing-az-border-2-saved/]
INTERNATIONAL:
• Airport Worker Guilty Of Disguised People Smuggling To Vancouver [Canada]: An airport worker was
found guilty for his part in a human smuggling ring which operated between Hong Kong and Vancouver.
The deception was discovered when a young Chinese man was found traveling last year disguised as an
elderly man in a silicone mask. A lucrative people smuggling scam which operated between Hong Kong
and Vancouver was thwarted in January when one of the illegal passengers gave the game away. Fellow
passengers were shocked when an elderly Chinese man emerged from the airplane washroom as a young
Asian man. According to Emirates 247 he had boarded the plane wearing a silicone mask which gave the
appearance of an old man, but stripped off his disguise during the flight. The passenger was from the
Fujian province of China and had boarded the plane with the help of airport ground workers in Hong Kong
responsible for boarding passes. He was taken into custody by the Canada Border Services Agency when
he arrived in Vancouver seeking asylum. Chau Pak-kin, 26, and Chan Wing-chung, 27, who both worked
for Singapore Air Terminal Services in Hong Kong were arrested as part of a human smuggling ring. The
Standard reported that following his arrest Chan told police that his superior, Ah Doi, had promised he could
earn HK$20,000 for each stowaway he boarded. The smuggled passengers were issued with color coded
boarding passes which ground staff who conspired in the deception could identify to illicitly board those
traveling under false identities. [HSEC-3.10; Date: 18 October 2011; Source:
http://m.digitaljournal.com/article/312970]
Malaysian Police Rescue 21 Ugandan 'Sex Slaves' [Malaysia]: Malaysian police said Tuesday they
have busted a sex slave ring and rescued 21 Ugandan women who were forced into prostitution after being
lured to Malaysia with promises of jobs as maids. Criminal investigation chief Bakri Zinin said in a statement
that police found the women, aged between 19 and 42, holed up in four apartment units in central Selangor
state during a raid on Friday. He said three Ugandans - two women believed to be pimps and a man
suspected of being a customer - were detained. Initial investigations showed the 21 women were promised
jobs as maids in homes and hotels with a salary of $1,000 a month, but instead forced to become "sex
slaves" to pay off travel fees and other costs totaling $7,000, he said. The women were brought into the
country via China, and were threatened verbally and physically to stop them from running away, the
statement added. A police official said Tuesday that investigations were focused on how long the ring had
been in operation and who the masterminds were. [HSEC-3.10; Date: 18 October 2011; Source:
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/10/17/3986706/malaysian-police-rescue-21-ugandan.html]
• Two Teenage Sex Slaves Rescued In India With Help From Christian Organization: Two teenage girls
were rescued from a brothel in India after a Christian organization alerted police that the girls had been
forced into sex slavery.… The India Rescue Mission (IRM) told local police that two girls named Roopa, 16,
and Gowri, 17, were trapped in a prostitution ring in the city of Prune…. After police were told of the girls'
presence, they raided the brothel and arrested its owner. In the statement given by Gowri after the rescue
operation, she said that she was tricked into coming to India from Bangladesh by being promised a job,
which eventually led to her being forced into sex slavery. "She was made to attend customers by force and
if she denied them then she would be beaten. She was kept in captivity for four months," said James
Varghese, the founder of the IRM. … The two girls' plight is an example of the grave problem of child
prostitution facing India. [HSEC-3.10; Date: 17 October 2011; Source:
http://global.christianpost.com/news/two-teenage-sex-slaves-rescued-in-india-with-help-from-christian-
organization-58306/]
• 2 Human Trafficking Victims Rescued [Philippines]: The Women and Children Protection Desk (WCPD)
of the Zamboanga City Police Office (ZCPO) has rescued two victims of human trafficking in the city, a top
police official said Monday. Senior Superintendent Edwin de Ocampo, ZCPO director, said the victims were
rescued around 4:25 p.m. Sunday at a budget hotel along Gov. Alvarez Avenue, Zamboanga City. De
Ocampo withheld the victims' identities but said they are all women and one of them is a 25-year-old
resident of Cabanatuan City while the other is a 24-year-old from Valenzuela, Metro Manila. The alleged
recruiter, whose real identity is not also known, was not around when the WCPC personnel raided the
budget hotel and rescued the two victims, de Ocampo added. [HSEC-3.10; Date: 17 October 2011; Source:
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/zamboanga/local-news/2011/10/17/2-human-trafficking-victims-rescued-185542]
• Cabinet Probes Child Trafficking Syndicate [Namibia]: Cabinet has started probing an alleged child-
trafficking syndicate that involves several European countries and some self-styled social welfare
organizations in Namibia. Secretary to Cabinet, Frans Kapofi, confirmed this upon inquiry on Friday. Kapofi
said the executive had received a detailed report from the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, whose
inspectors uncovered the syndicate. New Era understands that several juvenile offenders are quietly flown
in from Europe and immediately dispatched to farms in the Otjozondjupa and Omaheke regions as part of
their rehabilitation. They are under the custodian of several local welfare organizations, who pocket hefty
fees from European governments as payment for hosting the young offenders. The shocking revelations
were unearthed in February this year when labor inspectors undertook a series of ad hoc visits to farms in
the regions. [HSEC-3.10; Date: 17 October 2011; Source:
http://www.newera.com.na/article.php?articleid=41194&title=Inferno%20destroys%20shack]
• Ten Vietnamese Children Lost In Asylum System [Australia]: The children arrived on the same boat
and have gone missing over the past 4½ months from Victoria and Western Australia. It is understood the
possibility they have been victims of trafficking is being investigated by authorities and federal police. All the
missing children arrived in May, on a boat crammed with children aged as young as six. A Department of
Immigration spokesman said the children were aged over 15. Nine vanished from Victoria and one from a
community facility in Western Australia. … Every place taken by an asylum seeker who arrives via boat is
taking the spot of a refugee in Australia's humanitarian program, which is being scaled back by 500 people
a year to cope with ballooning boat arrivals. [HSEC-3.10; Date: 17 October 2011; Source:
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/sydney-nsw/ten-vietnamese-children-lost-in-asylum-system/story-
e6freuzi-1226169184878]
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