From Latin America to Kosovo: The Routes Used to Traffic Women for Sexual Exploitation

A city can be selected in a matter of seconds, while the search can be filtered further by nationality, age, height, weight, hair and eye color, and even sexual preferences.

With just one click, users are shown dozens of profiles of women advertising escort services in Kosovo.

However, Kosovo authorities say that some of these accounts may not belong to women acting of their own free will, but to victims of human trafficking.

Radio Free Europe identified a large number of profiles of women from Latin American countries on a platform that the Kosovo Police has also flagged for the sale of sexual services.

The platform, which operates across Europe, claims that it has verified some of these profiles.

Zana Sadiku-Sertolli of the Basic Prosecution Office in Pristina told Radio Free Europe that people brought in from abroad, particularly from Latin American countries, are recruited through regular contracts.

“Those recruited from abroad, especially from Latin American countries, are recruited with regular contracts. They are registered as regular workers in Kosovo, with residence permits, and are provided with employment contracts,” she said.

According to Sadiku-Sertolli, who serves as coordinator for human trafficking offenses, this method of organization and recruitment has made it more difficult for the authorities to prosecute cases.

RFE asked the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the institution responsible for issuing work and residence permits to foreign nationals, for clarification about its strategies and policies to combat this phenomenon. No response was received even after three weeks.

Questions were also sent to the Regulatory Authority of Electronic and Postal Communications regarding the escort platform, specifically whether any request had been made to block access to the website in Kosovo. ARKEP did not respond either.

In previous cases, ARKEP has ordered mobile operators and internet service providers to block the websites of sanctioned Russian media outlets in Kosovo. Meanwhile, many online betting platforms operating from abroad remain accessible in Kosovo, even though their services violate the law.

The Kosovo Police told RFE that it was monitoring suspicious websites, including the platform featuring women from Latin America, but stressed that “at this stage, we cannot provide any further information.”

In a report published last year, the police assessed that Kosovo “continues to remain a country of origin, transit and destination for trafficking victims.” The document also identifies the provision of sexual services through online escort websites as a new form of trafficking.

The report says that the victims are usually between the ages of 18 and 30 and arrive in an organized manner from countries such as Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia and Peru.

In 2024, a Peruvian national was arrested in Pristina on suspicion of being one of the organizers of this trafficking network.

RFE contacted the Special Prosecution Office for more details about the continuation of proceedings in this case but received no response.

Several months ago, Kallxo.com reported that it had obtained part of the investigation file. According to that portion of the file, the organizers are suspected of taking more than 50 percent of the trafficked women’s earnings and beating them if they failed to follow instructions.

Cases linked to the same platform have also been identified in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Prosecutor’s Office there told RFE that several Brazilian nationals who had been sexually exploited were identified during 2025 and 2026.

According to the office, the victims’ transportation and accommodation were arranged by an organized criminal group, while the proceeds were transferred to the organizers through cryptocurrencies. Brazilian authorities, Europol and Interpol have been involved in the investigation.

In Kosovo, legal cooperation with the countries from which victims originate has proved more complicated when Kosovo does not have diplomatic relations with the country of origin, according to prosecutor Sadiku-Sertolli.

“There are countries that do not recognize Kosovo, and a bilateral agreement must exist with the country from which the victim originates, because it must be assessed whether it would be safe for the victim to return there [or not],” she said.

However, Sadiku-Sertolli added that this obstacle is usually overcome through the Office for International Legal Cooperation, which operates within the Ministry of Justice.

The trafficking of women for sexual exploitation is not limited to the Western Balkans.

Europol, the European Union’s law enforcement agency, says that trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation, including cases involving women from Latin America, is carried out through criminal networks spanning several continents.

In June of this year, Europol, Interpol, Frontex and Ameripol coordinated an international operation against human trafficking. Kosovo’s authorities also took part.

The operation resulted in more than 1,000 arrests and the identification of a large number of victims from Latin America.

“During the operational phase, the participating countries carried out targeted law-enforcement actions, including intensified checks at hotspots such as borders and airports, as well as proactive investigations into ongoing cases requiring high-level operational cooperation,” Europol said in a response sent to RFE.

Kosovo is not mentioned on the list of countries where arrests were made.

Media outlets in Albania have also reported a situation similar to that in Kosovo, involving escorts from Latin American countries. However, Albanian state authorities did not respond to RFE’s questions on the matter.

Serbia has recorded an increase in the number of identified trafficking victims. However, the national rapporteur for such cases, Zoran Pashalliq, told RFE that there have so far been no data on victims from Latin America.

Unlike in Serbia, statistical data for Kosovo show that the number of identified trafficking victims has declined in recent years.

Although the statistics do not indicate how many of them were sexually exploited, the Kosovo Police considers this one of the most widespread forms of trafficking. It also acknowledges that the true number of victims is believed to be higher.

During this month, the Kosovo Police carried out an operation at massage parlors and nightlife venues with music, arresting several people.

However, those arrested were not suspected of human trafficking, but of the criminal offense of facilitating prostitution.

According to prosecutor Sadiku-Sertolli, the distinction between these offenses concerns a person’s freedom. Trafficking occurs when a victim is recruited, kept under control or forced to be exploited, while facilitating prostitution means organizing prostitution or profiting from it.

She said traffickers take care not to leave physical evidence. As a result, investigative bodies in Kosovo have difficulty obtaining evidence other than victims’ statements.

“Another challenge here is convincing the victim that they are a victim of trafficking,” Sadiku-Sertolli said, emphasizing that this difficulty is particularly evident among victims under the age of 18.

A Kosovo Police report shows that 42 victims in this age group were identified from 2021 through 2024. Eight of them were between the ages of 12 and 14, while most are believed to have been exploited for sexual services.

However, according to Sadiku-Sertolli, the lack of physical evidence left by traffickers is not the only obstacle to prosecution.

The prosecutor said interinstitutional cooperation is good, but some institutions continue to have limited capacities. She specifically cited staff shortages in social services and a lack of work equipment for police officers.

Data obtained by Radio Free Europe from the Kosovo Judicial Council show that only two prison sentences for human trafficking have been handed down over the past three years.

Under the Criminal Code, human trafficking is punishable by five to 12 years in prison. In the most serious cases, the sentence can be as severe as life imprisonment.

Kosovo’s sentencing policy is specifically criticized in the US State Department’s 2025 report on trafficking in persons.

It says that sentences below the minimum prescribed by law and “the imposition of fines as the sole punishment undermine efforts to hold traffickers accountable, weaken the deterrent effect, create potential concerns for victims’ safety and fail to reflect the seriousness of this criminal offense.”

The document also highlights another concern raised by prosecutor Sadiku-Sertolli: the lack of necessary expertise and training.

According to the report, most judges and prosecutors lack sufficient experience and training, particularly when cases involve the emotional or psychological control of victims. This can lead to more lenient sentences or cases being reclassified as criminal offenses carrying lighter penalties than human trafficking.

Radio Free Europe asked the Kosovo Judicial Council to explain the difficulties courts face when handling human trafficking cases and the measures being taken to strengthen judges’ capacities in this field. By the time the article was published, the Council had not responded. / RFE