I'll start off by expalining that I'm pasting my post from
a Yoshkar-Ola board, so if the beginning sounds unfamiliar,
that's why. I'm sick to my stomach right now - knowing
this happened in my wife's hometown...I have no more words...
I mentioned in an earlier post that I
had brought home a copy of "Izvestiya",
the local Yoshkar-Ola weekly advertising
flyer, and I had posted a few samples of
apartment asking prices. On Page Four, the
Travel Section, there's a little ad at the
very top, placed by Puma Travel on Ulitsa
Pervomaiskaya, #103. Relaxation Tours,
Shopping, Visas for all Countries, Flights,
Autos and tickets for International Excursions.
Sounds very full-service... upscale location
in the city's center... who would've ever guessed?
I now ask you guys to direct your Russian
wife to the following link - I cannot alone
translate every insinuation, but the overall
picture is clear - and it's ugly. We've got
vermin right in our own backyard...
http://www.mariel.ru/Article1515.htmlOn Tuesday, 27 June, Mariel.ru reported that
upper-level directors at Puma Travel were
arrested and charged in human trafficking
after an investigation by Interpol. It is
estimated that close to 200 women, mostly
residents of Mari-El, between the ages of 18-40,
were summarily dispatched to Albania and Spain,
only to be enslaved in brothels. After the
"whoremaster" took away 50-70% of their "earnings",
the women were forced to pay for room and board,
and to pay a "duty" kickback to Puma in Y-O. Also,
Puma is accused of engaging in the falsification
of passports and visas. A number of these women
have involuntarily overstayed their visas, and
hence, are now in foreign prisons. The firm faces
charges leveled by Yoshkar-Ola's Office of the
Public Prosecutor....
I hope these guys fry in hell...