Eight of the 10 people arrested last week following raids on brothels across the country have been released without charge, while two people have been charged in connection with the investigation.
Last Wednesday gardai raided brothels in Athlone and Mullingar as part of a major crackdown on international human trafficking. Locations in Cavan, Drogheda, Sligo, Kilkenny, Enniscorthy, Newbridge, and Waterford were also targeted.
A total of 10 people were arrested last week on suspicion of organising and managing prostitution; however eight of these have so far been released and files are to be sent to the Director of Public Prosecution.
Seven of the eight, four women and three men, aged in their 20s to early 50s, were arrested in the Republic. Another man who was arrested by the PSNI in Co Down has also been released.
To date, just two people have been charged - a 47-year-old man from Carlow, thought to be the mastermind of the operation, and his 31-year-old South African girlfriend. They have been remanded on bail, and are due to appear before Swansea Crown Court in Wales next Tuesday December 16.
Last week’s nationwide searches were carried out as part of an international investigation into the activities of an organised crime gang suspected of trafficking young women from Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Africa and forcing them into prostitution.
