The head of the ring, a 40-year-old woman who owns two nightclubs in the areas served by the Nova Gorica and Sežana Police Administrations, and her 28-year-old assistant remain in detention. This is the third such sting operation this year. In the first 11 months of 2015, Slovenian police recorded 20 cases of human trafficking and 4 cases of forced prostitution.

The members of the trafficking gang were Slovenian and Ukrainian nationals who lured Ukrainian, Italian and Dominican girls into Slovenia with the promise of a job. The girls were allegedly hired as dancers, but were then forced into prostitution. The victims are aged from 20 to 35 and were kept under strict surveillance. According to criminal investigator Marino Pangos, they were punished for various petty offences – such as being late for work – by having their pay cut.

Police became aware of the matter after a client of one of the nightclubs filed a report. The nine-month sting operation ended on Thursday when 130 detectives and police officers carried out a total of 15 house searches. They seized communication devices, paperwork on how the clubs were run, sex toys, 89 thousand euros in cash as well as some cocaine and marijuana. Those involved could face up to fifteen years in prison.

E. S. (Radio Slovenia); translated by D. V.