Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — At Islam Karimov International Airport in Tashkent, law enforcement officers detained a 53‑year‑old city resident on suspicion of trying to smuggle three young women abroad for the purpose of sexual exploitation.

According to preliminary reports, the suspect was in the process of sending the women to Thailand, where an accomplice was awaiting their arrival. The intended victims, aged 18, 23 and 31, were all in socially vulnerable situations. Intelligence indicates that upon their arrival in Thailand, the accomplice was to pay the intermediary US$5,000 for delivering the women.

It is believed that the victims would have been forced to provide intimate services for three months in order to “work off” this debt.

An investigation has been opened under Article 135 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan (“Trafficking in Persons”). Authorities are now carrying out further inquiries to establish all the circumstances of the crime and to identify any additional accomplices.