Three people were arrested on suspicion of operating an international network that recruited women abroad and brought them to Israel to engage in prostitution, Israel Police said on Thursday.
The arrests followed a months-long investigation into suspected human trafficking, pimping and causing women to leave another country for the purpose of prostitution, according to police.
Police said the investigation began after it received information, through an Israel Police representative abroad, about an organized group suspected of involvement in trafficking women.
Investigators suspect that members of the group contacted women in foreign countries and persuaded them to travel to Israel to engage in prostitution, after which the suspects allegedly acted as their pimps.
The investigation involved cooperation between police units in Israel and abroad and included the use of undercover agents, police said.
Investigators also tracked women who entered Israel after allegedly being persuaded and directed by the suspects to come to the country for prostitution, according to the police statement.
Three suspects were arrested on Wednesday: a Beersheba resident and his partner, both in their 30s, and an Eilat resident in his 40s. Their names have not been released at this stage.
The case was covertly investigated for about nine months, according to police, during which some of the alleged acts took place outside of Israel’s borders.
The three suspects were brought before the Haifa Magistrate's Court on Thursday for a hearing on a police request to extend their detention, during which police indicated that it is aware of other potential witnesses connected to the case.
Defense attorney questions basis of investigation
Attorney Maher Talhami, representing the Eilat resident, argued that a basic tenet of investigative work is to establish when and where an alleged act took place, suggesting that that had not been done in this one.
To allow more time for developments, Judge Amir Salame extended the detention of all three until Tuesday at 11 a.m.
The case centers on whether investigators can establish that the suspects went beyond facilitating prostitution and committed the more serious offenses under investigation, including human trafficking and arranging for women to leave another country for prostitution.