Police have taken down at least three major child prostitution rings across Colombia this week, reported local media on Thursday.
For selling the bodies of some 200 girls and women, eight were arrested and charged with procurement of minors to engage in prostitution.
Early information suggested that the arrests were made possible after interception of phone calls which gave away the whereabouts of the suspects.
Through these channels, the authorities discovered that the group “controlled at least 200 girls of school-age as well as university students”, most between 13 and 17 years old, according to local newspaper El Heraldo.
In the wiretapped conversations, the detainees discussed services offered by the prostitution network, including teenage virgins, homosexuals, threesomes and escorts.
The revelations come just days after the prosecutors office announced on Tuesday the dismantling of other juvenile prostitution networks in Cartagena.
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Additionally, Colombian police was allegedly supported by the US National Security Agency (NSA) in the dismantling of a third ring.
A total of 43 women, including 23 minors, exploited by the prostitution networks were rescued in Armenia, Cartagena and Medellin, according to a statement by the NSA. In a separate report, the same organization said the number of children rescued was 55, among them some eleven year-olds.
MORE: How a former CIA agent broke up a Colombian child prostitution ring
In the last operation, twelve Colombian and one US citizens were detained.
Sources
Cae red de prostitución infantil en Barranquilla (El Espectador)