By Staff
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
Georgian authorities have uncovered a Chinese human trafficking syndicate that forces Thai women to participate in illegal egg harvesting. Up to 100 women may still be held captive by the trafficking ring, the Express Tribune reported.
Authorities rescued three Thai women from the so-called “human egg farm,” following the escape of one woman who was being held captive. The woman who escaped paid her captors a $2,053 ransom, and subsequently raised the alarm with the Pavena Hongsakul Foundation for Children and Women. The Foundation then worked with both Interpol and Thai authorities to rescue three more women.
At a press conference, the three rescued women, whose identities were protected with baggy clothing, hats, and face coverings, revealed that they were lured by the promise of travel and money. The traffickers offered women a little more than $740 per month, but, upon the women’s arrival in Georgia, seized their passports and held them captive.
The women spoke of being kept in group homes, and anaesthetized and forcibly injected with fertility hormones. Their eggs—extracted by machines every month—were allegedly sold and trafficked for in-vitro fertilization.