Uzbek Human Trafficking Group Arrested in İstanbul

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — On 20 December, officers from the Operative-Investigative Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Uzbekistan arrested members of an organized criminal group in İstanbul involved in human trafficking.

According to the investigation, the group was led by a 39-year-old woman from Samarkand region. Since 2020, she had been supplying hotels in Türkiye with women to provide sexual services. Victims were deceived under the pretext of high-paying jobs; upon arrival in Türkiye, their passports were confiscated and they were forced into prostitution.

Additionally, a male accomplice born in 1988 was arrested. He recruited women in difficult financial circumstances in Samarkand. For each woman sent to Türkiye, he received $400.

During operational measures at Tashkent Airport, an attempt to send two women abroad to Türkiye was prevented.

A criminal case has been opened under Part 2 of Article 135 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan (human trafficking). The crime carries a prison sentence of five to fifteen years.