The National Bureau of Investigation of the Rapid Response and Special Police Services, in cooperation with the Swiss police, has dismantled a Hungarian human trafficking gang in Switzerland. The three members of the Mezőtúr family are in criminal custody, waiting for a decision on their pre-trial detention.
The R. family of Mezőtúr came to the attention of the police last year when they were suspected of recruiting young women of Hungarian nationality, vulnerable due to their living situation, for prostitution work in Switzerland. The male members of the family formed a fake love affair with the victims and forced the emotionally dependent girls to perform sexual services. Vulnerable women would take clients in brothels and most of the money earned taken away by the pimps. The victims had no choice but to keep them under tight control, forcing them to accept more and more clients.
The R. family earned over ten million forints in one year but had no legal income from work. The Anti-Human Trafficking Unit of Transnational Crime Department of the National Bureau of Investigation has identified seven victims, several of them were forced to continue their prostitution work while being pregnant. One of the victims had a child by a member of the R. family, and other victims took turns being lovers of the male members of the family in addition to sex work.
With the involvement of the Mezőtúr Police Department, the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit organised an operation to arrest the family members. 25-year-old R. Bruno, 30-year-old R. Tibor, and 36-year-old R. Melinda were arrested at dawn on 25 October at their residence in Mezőtúr. A high-value car was seized to recover the illegally obtained assets and three properties were forfeited. During the on-site investigation, investigators found three women who are also possible victims of human trafficking.
The Anti-Human Trafficking Unit suspected the perpetrators of trafficking in human beings and forced labour for the purpose of committing sexual acts against several persons, taking advantage of the victim's vulnerable situation, and placed them all in criminal custody, and initiated their pre-trial detention. The sentence for the three suspects is between 5 and 15 years imprisonment.
Further suspects are expected to be identified and questioned through bilateral police cooperation with the Swiss counterpart in the case.