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2 Russian women get suspended sentences for sex trafficking

MOSCOW, July 16 (UPI) -- Two Russian women were given seven-year suspended jail sentences for selling 51 girls into sex slavery, officials said Tuesday.

The two women, whose names were not reported, are 60 and 36 and are from the Khabarovsk region, RIA Novosti reported.

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The Investigative Committee said the two recruited 51 women -- five less than 18 years of age -- for sex work from 2005 to 2010 as part of a foreign criminal gang led by Israelis.

The victims were told they would have jobs as waitresses and dancers at restaurants with good salaries. They were threatened with violence, their passports were taken away and they were forced to dance naked at night clubs and provide sexual services, the Investigative Committee report said.

At least 23 women were sent to the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, 10 to China, 13 to Cyprus and Greece, four to South Korea and one to Israel, the report said.

Nearly 180 people face legal action and 19 people were arrested as part of the investigation, RIA Novosti said.

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