Sex Trafficking Ringmaster Busted on Belo Monte
Police from the state of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil's southeastern region have arrested two leaders of a sex trafficking ring that sent adolescent girls and transvestites, some as young as 16, to prostitute themselves to the workers building the Belo Monte Dam in the state of Pará.
O Globo reported the news in Brazil last month, reporting that the traffickers decided to begin their business to take advantage of the huge movement of construction workers to the towns of Altamira and Vitória do Xingu, 10km away from the dam's construction site.
The ring was uncovered in February of 2013 when the youngest girl – 16 years old – escaped from captivity to describe the horrendous situation to the local police.
In the months that passed since February, Brazil's Comissão Parlamentar de Inquérito do Tráfico de Pessoas (Congressional Investigative Commission on Human Trafficking) opened up an inquiry on the case, promising justice. In April, the Commission was to meet with Antonio Carlos de Oliveira, a director of Norte Energia, S.A. – the developer of Belo Monte Dam – to discuss whether Norte Energia was aware of the prostitution bought by the workers.
To date, the Commission has not stated whether the company knew about the existence of the prostitution ring, and no member of the company has been implicated in the crimes.
Meanwhile, the Commission earlier this summer heard new testimony about similar prostitution at other dams such as the Barra Grande Dam in Santa Catarina state, and at the construction sites of stadiums for the upcoming World Cup, underlining how rampant the problem has become at the construction of any large infrastucture project in Brazil.
