Brazilian police dismantle sex-trafficking ring

Brazil's Federal Police force on Friday dismantled a sex-trafficking ring that pretended to operate as a legitimate company.

Five of the suspects were arrested and another five arrest warrants remain outstanding, officials said.

The ring operated out of the northern state of Amazonas under the guise of a talent recruitment company called Brazil Amazon Shows & Productions, which advertised online for young men and women to work as dancers in South Korea.

The victims were lured with the promise of an all-expenses-paid trip, plus a salary of nearly 800 U.S. dollars, and help processing the required paperwork.

The company claimed the Federal Police validated the contracts and travel documents.

"The help-wanted ads for young people were put on social networks using the name of the Federal Police as the agency that validated the work contracts and visas, to trick the dancers by giving the appearance of being legitimate," the police force said in a statement.

Preliminary investigations indicate the ring was financed by South Koreans.

"Over the course of the investigations, we verified the participation of Korean nationals in financing the criminal project. We also verified that most of the members of the group were abroad, in South Korea as well as in Eastern European countries, recruiting dancers," said the Federal Police.

The police operation came a day before the United Nations-designated World Day against Trafficking in Persons, which falls on July 30, and as part of the UN-backed Blue Heart Campaign to raise awareness about human trafficking. Enditem