Pimp ring busted in Westerveld

Police have dismantled a two-man operation that pimped out Brazilian and Romanian women in Westerveld, a parish in Drenthe.

The two men –a 51-year-old resident of Ooststellingwerf and a 56-year-old from Smallingerland- were arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of involvement in human trafficking and forgery. The women they pimped and the children that were found during the raid, have to leave the country.

The duo operated an illegal escort service in Westerveld. Authorities got on their tails when Marechaussee officers found suspicious statements of employment during an inspection; the documents had been produced by the escort service the two men ran, but that turned out later to be an illegal operation.

The escort service operated from two vacation homes and a chalet in Westerveld; the men lived here with the women they pimped. Police raided both locations last Tuesday and arrested both men and pulled their website from the air. The officers also confiscated money and digital equipment.

The women –three Brazilians and two Romanians- were told they have to leave the country. They also had three children with them, toddlers varying in age from 0 to three.

Police say they expect more arrests in this case. The two men have meanwhile been lead in front of a Judge of Instruction