Colombian police smash Israeli-run child abuse ring
Colombian police arrested six Israelis accused of running a sex abuse operation exploiting underage girls.
Prosecutor General Nestor Martinez said on Sunday that after a two-year investigation agents broke up “an Israeli mafia that exploited and used girls, adolescents and women as sex slaves in Colombia”.
Two Colombians were also arrested in the sweep, Mr Martinez said.
Arrest warrants were issued for eight other Israeli nationals suspected of involvement in the child abuse ring.
The gang sold tour packages for Israelis to several Colombian cities that was a front for child sex services, he said.
Israeli national Mor Zohar was accused of being a leader of the gang, which was said to have been protected by a Colombian police officer.
The Israeli citizens all have Interpol Red Notices, the closest thing to an international arrest warrant. Officials seized assets belonging to the suspects worth $45 million (Dh165.2m), including property used by the gang.
The network was allegedly led by Israeli citizen Benyamin Mush, who has travelled in and out of Colombia and Central American countries, prosecutors said.
Evidence from the victims stated that the minors received between $65 and $126 and were forced to belong to a WhatsApp group called Purim, named after the Jewish holiday. They were also made to drink alcohol and attend drug-fuelled parties on yachts with the Israeli tourists.
One of the Israelis is also being held in connection with the killing of another Israeli national in Colombia in 2016, which was believed to be an ordered hit after a financial dispute.
Israeli media reports say the ring set up hotels and hostels around Colombia to give their operation a front. They preyed on vulnerable girls and boys from troubled backgrounds or who had financial problems, then forced them into the illegal work.
One of the suspected ringleaders, Assi Ben-Mosh, set up a resort hotel that was popular with former Israeli soldiers who had left the army and were travelling around the world. He and the other suspects are believed to have used proceeds from the ring to buy property and start new companies.
In July, police arrested 18 people at the Hotel Benjamin in the fishing village of Taganga, accusing them of helping to run a sex ring and coercing girls from Colombia and Venezuela into working for them. They are believed to have recruited more than 200 girls.
The suspects, who will face a judge in the north-western city of Medellin, face charges that include using minors as prostitutes, aggravated homicide, drug trafficking and money laundering.