Washington state a hotbed for human trafficking, report says

[icymist]

Wednesday, July 14, 2004 - Page updated at 12:00 A.M.

Washington state a hotbed for human trafficking, report says

By Florangela Davila
Seattle Times staff reporter

A new report says Washington state is a hotbed for what many say is a modern form of slavery: human trafficking, the recruitment, transportation and sale of people for labor.

The state's international border with Canada, its many ports, rural areas and dependency on agricultural workers make Washington prone to such exploitation, according to the report.

"It is such a hideous crime because it's really slavery," said Bev Emery, who manages the state's Office of Crime Victims Advocacy. "It's looking at and treating human beings as though they are a commodity to be bought and sold."

<snip>

The report notes other cases that either occurred in the state or involved victims who used local services: Anastasia King, originally from Kyrgyzstan, who married through an international matchmaking agency and was killed by her husband in 2000; Victor Nikolayevich Virchenko, who recruited and forced women and girls to dance nude in an Alaskan club; and Kil-Soo Lee, who recruited more than 250 Vietnamese sweatshop laborers to work in American Samoa in 2001.

Washington was the first state to make trafficking a state crime, in 2003. No one has been convicted under the state trafficking law, but there is at least one case pending, according to the report.

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[shoelace414]

1. cool

Is there a showroom or a brochure I can get. :)

[amber dog democrat]

2. In spite of the topic - you got a laugh out me.

you WERE kidding, right ?

[shoelace414]

3. Yes

of course. I'm just trying to get remembered. :)