16 accused of human trafficking in Sweden

Sixteen people have been arrested in Sweden on charges of trafficking two Slovakian women and allegedly selling them into forced prostitution. The accused are from Sweden, Slovakia, Serbia-Montenegro, Syria and Bosnia-Herzegovina and the group includes at least one woman, which is not uncommon amongst human trafficking rings. It is alleged that the two women aged 20 and 28 were taken from Slovakia in March or April of this year and then sold for around $850 and $620 respectively. The women were allegedly forced to prostitute themselves, the majority of the money is said to have been taken from them and their passports withheld from them. Swedish prosecutor Magnus Elving told AFP news that wiretaps had helped police intervene in the affair.