ArmenPress
June 25 2004

GEORGIAN POLICE ARREST TWO ARMENIANS ON TRAFFICKING CHARGES

TBILISI, JUNE 25, ARMENPRESS: Georgian police have arrested two
ethnic Armenians, Ashot Hovhanesian and Marina Mnatsakanian, on
charges of running a criminal group involved in trafficking of women.
The Armenians are accused of trying to transport 15 young women
from Uzbekistan to the United Arab Emirates UAE). The women had been
promised jobs in Georgia, but when they arrived in the Georgian
capital they were told they would get their passports only in Dubai,
the girls however refused to travel to the UAE and were locked in a
Tbilisi apartment.
According to Georgian laws, the criminals could face up to 20 year
imprisonment. “We have to carry out a detailed investigation, as the
group seems to be well-organized and most likely that was not its
first attempt to transport women for prostitution,” a prosecutor
Boris Mchkheidze was quoted by RFE/RL as saying.