Uzbekistan Arrests Suspected Human Trafficker Who Fled to Turkey

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — A woman suspected of running a sex trafficking operation fled to Istanbul after her crimes — but was caught at Tashkent's international airport attempting to send more victims abroad.

The arrest was the result of a joint operation between Uzbekistan's Ministry of Internal Affairs Operational Investigation Department and the Turkish National Police, which tracked the suspect, born in 1995, to Istanbul, where she had been living after fleeing Uzbekistan.

According to investigators, in 2025 the suspect, acting in concert with accomplices, coerced multiple women into providing sexual services for payment — an offense under Part 2 of Article 135 of Uzbekistan's Criminal Code. Having fled the country following the commission of the crime, she continued her alleged activities from Turkey.

Authorities moved in at Tashkent International Airport, detaining the suspect at the moment she was attempting to send several women from Tashkent to Istanbul for the purpose of further exploitation.

Investigation into the case is ongoing.