The safe return of 18 women

At least 18 women have been rescued from a sex trafficking ring that was dismantled in the province of the Darién by Panamanian authorities.

The operation carried out in the districts of Chepigana and Pinogana, reported by the prosecutor Kenya Porcell worked towards the safe return of 9 Venezuelans, 7 Colombians, and 2 Panamanians. In addition to the safe return of 18 women,  a human trafficking network was dismantled, composed of four Panamanians and two foreigners, explained the prosecutor,  among them an Ecuadorian who has been convicted of crimes against minors in his home country. 

The operation was composed of five raids and involved 128 officials. The operation was led by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the team of the First Superior Prosecutor’s Office against Organized Crime, the National Border Service (Senafront), the Judicial Investigation Directorate (DIJ), the Unit for the Protection and Care of Victims and Witnesses of the Public Ministry and Police Information Directorate of the National Police, and the National Service of Migration and National Aeronaval Service.