A 35-YEAR-OLD Ukrainian woman was yesterday remanded in custody for six days in connection with pimping and trafficking at least three other Eastern European women in Nicosia and Larnaca.
The raven-haired suspect was initially indignant at her arrest but later calmed down and through her lawyer said she had no objection to being held to assist police with their investigation.
The woman was arrested in connection with a sting operation earlier last week involving a Nicosia apartment transformed into a massage parlour offering sexual services. The information that the apartment was operating as a brothel was received through a tip-off, CID officer Sophoclis Sophocleous told the court.
Police contacted a mobile number and set up an appointment with a man speaking broken Greek. A police informant then went to the specific apartment where two he paid two Ukrainian women €90 for a massage and for sexual services.
The apartment was then raided by investigators who found the money their informant had used to pay the two women as well as a third Romanian woman.
The three women told police they had come to Cyprus to work after experiencing financial hardships in their own countries.
“Through friends in Cyprus they spoke on the phone to the suspect, who lives in Cyprus permanently,” said Sophocleous.
“The suspect promised that they would come to Cyprus to work as cleaners or masseuses, but then she started to take them to different apartments in Nicosia and Larnaca where using threats and intimidation she set up meetings with male clients and forced them to perform sexual services. Every client paid €60. The complainants received €20 while the suspect got the remaining €40, the court heard.
The suspect was arrested on Sunday after the three women had been identified as victims of trafficking by the Police Headquarters’ Office of Combating of Trafficking of Human Beings.
The three women had also told police about a Syrian man, who is the suspect’s alleged boyfriend.
Last Friday the Syrian man was remanded for six days. It is thought that he helped transport women to and from apartments used as brothels in Larnaca and Nicosia. He is also believed to have collected money from the women for his girlfriend and to have delivered oils and creams to the various massage parlours where they worked. The court heard the Syrian man confirmed to authorities to have helped the suspect.
When the judge ordered the woman’s six-day remand she instructed police to give her access to medical attention. Apparently during her arrest the suspect became hysterical and tried to self-harm. She is also said to have attacked a police officer.
