The Ilsan Eastern Police Station in Gyeonggi-do has announced that they have arrested a total of 5 people, including a man in his 40’s “A”, on charges of enticing 3 Brazilian women to Korea, confining them, and then forcing them into prostitution.

“A” and the other people arrested got in contact with the Brazilian women through social media, and they were communicating with each other since June. “A” and the others sent the Brazilian women round trip flight tickets to Korea. When they arrived on August 8, the women were instead sold to massage parlors and forced into prostitution.

On August 17, the women were able to report the incident to the Brazilian Embassy in Korea, taking advantage of the lack of surveillance by their kidnappers.

"The women are now being protected in migrant shelters."

— Police

The 3 Brazilian women were in their 20’s or 30’s, and were all interested in Korean culture and K-Pop. They promised the Brazilian women that they would help make them K-Pop singers.

"I will make it so you can promote as a celebrity or a model."

— “A” in text message to the women

Once they arrived, the Korean’s took their passports, sent them to a dormitory in Paju, and cancelled the return flight. A different person watched over them as they stayed in the dorm, and a few days later, one of the women was sold to a brothel in Ilsan for ₩2 million KRW ($1,655 USD).

The Koreans threatened the women not to report them for their involvement in prostitution, saying that they would also be punished if they told the police. Instead, they insisted that if they wanted to quit, they should pay for the airplane ticket fees.

"The kidnappers made threats like they were part of the Korean mafia, that the women would not be able to leave if they went to the police, or that they had to pay for the plane ticket that brought them to Korea to get out. This created this unavoidable situation for the women."

— Police