Police uncover a human trafficking ring involving forced begging by hearing- and speech-impaired people from Eastern Europe. Six Israelis are taken in for questioning and 10 people are rescued from an apartment in Netanya and taken to a safe house.
The six are suspected of human trafficking, false imprisonment, forced labor, assault, rape, withholding passports and conspiracy to commit a crime. Among the six are three residents of Netanya, a resident of Ashkelon and another who lives in Rishon Lezion.
The police believe the 10 victims came from Eastern Europe on tourist visas that have since expired. They were allegedly forced to beg for money, with the alleged traffickers using violence, blackmail and threats.
The operators of the ring are also suspected of housing the victims in apartments while illegally holding their passports, performing violent crimes against them and taking a significant part of their money. One of the suspects is accused of sexually assaulting one of the victims.
It's not (only) about you.
Supporting The Times of Israel isn’t a transaction for an online service, like subscribing to Netflix. The ToI Community is for people like you who care about a common good: ensuring that balanced, responsible coverage of Israel continues to be available to millions across the world, for free.
Sure, we'll remove all ads from your page and you'll unlock access to some excellent Community-only content. But your support gives you something more profound than that: the pride of joining something that really matters.
Join the Times of Israel Community
Join our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel ten years ago - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
comments