A 55-year-old woman is suspected of being behind a massage parlor where sex was sold.
The salon has offered the purchase of sexual services alongside the legal business.
Now she is charged with suspicion of aggravated pimping.
– I mean that the owner has controlled the daily operations and encouraged the women to sell sex, says chamber prosecutor Emelie Månsson in a press release.
The massage parlor is located in central Kristianstad and according to the prosecutor, the criminal activity has been going on from January 2020 to March 2023. After a police crackdown, the business was shut down and the two main suspects were arrested.
A 55-year-old woman is charged on suspicion of aggravated pimping and a 65-year-old man is charged with aggravated money laundering. Around 250 people have been identified as sex buyers at the salon, reports say SVT.
– I mean that the owner has controlled the daily operations and encouraged the women to sell sex. She has administered the customers and taken part of the money from the sex purchases. The crimes also include attempts at serious pimping because she has tried to persuade more women to sell sex, says chamber prosecutor Emelie Månsson, who was the head of the preliminary investigation, in a press release.
Made millions
Four people are prosecuted for buying sexual services and nine women are plaintiffs. The police investigation has shown that the suspected woman earned around SEK 1.3 million from the business.
– The crimes are serious because they have been carried out for several years and the woman has made a lot of money from the business. I also mean that it has happened with a human trafficking-like purpose because the women have come from other countries to Sweden on tourist visas. The owner then used the women to sell sex in her business, says Emelie Månsson.
However, not enough evidence has been found to charge the individuals with human trafficking.