Members of a criminal organization operating in Nyíregyháza were arrested by the Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County Police. The organization forced their victims into prostitution in Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, and Germany.

The Criminal Department of the Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County Police Headquarters initiated criminal proceedings for a well-founded suspicion of trafficking in human beings for the purpose of exploitation against the 29-year-old N. L. and 30-year-old spouse D. N., both residents of Nyíregyháza. Five further suspects, residents of Tiszavasvári, Székely and Nyíregyháza were also apprehended. According to the well-founded suspicion, the suspects operated a brothel in Germany from 2018 until their arrest on 7 May 2020, where vulnerable Hungarian women were forced into prostitution. Most of the women’s earnings were taken away by members of the criminal organization, from which they financed their own livelihoods. The suspects carried out their activities in a coordinated manner, sharing tasks related to the recruitment, travel and employment of women, posting advertisements, managing their income and expenses, and all of them received the money earned by the prostitutes accordingly.

After an investigation lasting more than a year, on May 7, 2020, in a coordinated police action involving about 40 police officers, including employees of the Jonatán Public Support Subdivision, investigators apprehended all of the suspects. In each location, police officers seized a total of nearly five million forints in cash, high-value cars, and gold jewelry, presumably derived from the proceeds of criminal activity. Prior to operating the brothel in Germany, members of the criminal organization forced the girls they recruited into prostitution in Switzerland, Austria, and Belgium. The income of prostitutes was taken away in part or often in full, and they were abused if they were resisting. The suspects were questioned, N. L., a resident of Nyíregyháza, was taken into criminal custody by the police and a motion was made for their arrest.

Source (in Hungarian): http://www.police.hu/hu/hirek-es-informaciok/legfrissebb-hireink/bunugyek/a-nyiregyhazi-rendorok-felszamoltak-a-noket