DETROIT - Aleksandr Maksimenko, age 27, was sentenced today to serve 168 months (14 years) in prison and pay more than $1.5 million in restitution for his role as one of the ring-leaders in a conspiracy to force Eastern European women to work as exotic dancers in Detroit area strip clubs, Stephen J. Murphy, United States Attorney, Eastern District of Michigan, and Wan J. Kim, Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division, announced. United States District Judge Victoria A. Roberts sentenced Maksimenko following his conviction for an involuntary servitude, immigration and money laundering conspiracy. Maksimenko is a naturalized U.S. citizen, born in Ukraine, who resided in Livonia, Michigan, at the time of his arrest in mid-February 2005.

“The defendants in this case took advantage of innocent women from Eastern Europe by enticing them to come the United States and then holding them in bondage for commercial and sexual exploitation,” said U.S. Attorney Stephen J. Murphy. “In sentencing Mr. Maksimenko to 14 years in prison, the Court underscored the gravity of this type of crime. Criminal operations involving human trafficking, such as this one, will be pursued with the greatest vigor by my office.”

“Human trafficking, as exemplified in this case, is nothing short of modern-day slavery,” said Wan J. Kim, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Department of Justice is committed to vigorously prosecuting these crimes wherever they occur.”

According to court papers, Maksimenko and his business partners operated a human trafficking ring which exploited Eastern European women and used the guise of a legitimate business - Beauty Search, Inc. - to cover their criminal conduct. Maksimenko and his partners smuggled women into the United States and compelled them through threats and coercion to work as dancers in strip clubs. To force the women to keep working, Maksimenko and his partners took a number of steps, including confiscating the dancers’ passports; imposing large debts; isolating the dancers; threatening physical violence; searching the dancers’ apartments; and threatening to turn the dancers into authorities because of their illegal immigrant status.

Source: http://detroit.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel07/de062507.htm

Hong Kong and Australian police working in a joint operation have arrested a Hong Kong couple in Melbourne, Australia, who were allegedly involved in trafficking young women from Hong Kong through promises and threats and forcing them into prostitution once they arrived in Australia. On June 11th Hong Kong police also arrested one man and four women for allegedly trafficking women from Hong Kong for sexual exploitation. The arrests form part of a wider operation against exploitation in Hong Kong. To read more about this and related subjects, please go to
http://www.news.gov.hk/en/category/lawandorder/070625/html/070625en08004.htm

There is a growing problem with human trafficking in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. Traffickers have taken thousands of girls to Mumbai and Delhi under the pretence of giving them work as housemaids, but in reality they are being sold into sexual exploitation.
A local resident told IANS that “Police here rarely take action as the agents give them a share of their earnings. The supply racket has become a thriving business here for the many agents here in contact with the Manjhi, Manjwar and Urao tribes.”
For more on this and related subjects, please go to
http://newspostindia.com/report-4729

BEIJING, June 8 (UPI) — Police in China raided a brickwork factory to rescue 31 workers who were being held as virtual slaves by the company.Authorities say some of the workers were so traumatized by the experience that they were unable to remember their names, The BBC reports.

The workers had burns over their bodies from being forced to carry bricks that had not cooled.

Located in a poor rural province, the factory was owned by the son of the local Communist Party secretary.

The factory owner and several others have been arrested.

According to Chinese newspapers, the workers were forced to work 20 hours a day without pay and given only bread and water to eat.

One man was reportedly beaten to death with a hammer because he didn’t work fast enough.

China has millions of migrants who often have to endure harsh conditions and low pay to find work.

http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Top_News/2007/06/08/slave_labor_found_at_china_brick_factory/3300/

In San Antonio, USA, Isabel Consuelo Ochoa, 58, and her daughters Consuelo Pilar Ochoa, 31, and Maria de Jesus Ochoa, 29, are on trial for allegedly trafficking minors from Mexico into sexual exploitation. One of the victim’s statements said, “The job supposedly involved accompanying men on trips. Pilar stressed that there was not going to be inappropriate behavior. She told me that all I would be required to do is accompany men to parties, reunions and just travel in general,” Instead, when they reached the US, the were allegedly forced into prostitution. Another victim’s statement said that “At the house, we were to attend to customers there, dance, disrobe, and have sexual relations with the customers,” It is alleged that a “boss” In San Antonio paid $3000 each for the two girls and told them they would have to work as prostitutes for 5 years to pay off the debt for bringing them into the country.
To read more about this and related subjects, please visit
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/
MYSA060207.01A.human_trafficking_folo.35909ae.html