Brazilian crime syndicate behind sex trafficking ring operating in Australia

How a Brazilian criminal syndicate managed to dupe Australian border officials and smuggle women into the country as part of massive sex trafficking ring

  • Brazilian criminal syndicate exposed as masterminds behind Australian sex ring
  • South American mob duped border officials to smuggle women into country 
  • Australian and Brazilian national named Lucas allegedly managed operation 

A Brazilian criminal syndicate has been exposed as the masterminds behind a sex trafficking business operating in Australia.

The South American mob allegedly dodged the tough immigration system and obtained visas for the sex workers so they could work in the country.

Brazilian police made arrests in April 2021 and the crackdown alerted Australian authorities to the secretive operations on home soil.

A Brazilian criminal syndicate has been exposed as the masterminds behind a sex trafficking business operating in Australia (stock image)

The South American mob has allegedly been dodging the tough immigration system and obtaining visas for the sex workers so they can work in the country

The South American mob has allegedly been dodging the tough immigration system and obtaining visas for the sex workers so they can work in the country

The criminals were taken to court where it was alleged a dual Brazilian and Australian man known as Lucas was managing the operations in Australia.

He was allegedly in contact with crime bosses in Brazil and helped traffic women into the country between 2018 and 2021, Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Court documents allege he was responsible for ‘obtaining an Australian visa at the Australian embassy in Brazil for Brazilian victims of sexual exploitation’. 

‘Escorts are sent to Australia using consular visas issued at the Australian embassy in Brazil based on… false documents,’ the documents allege. 

The criminal syndicate was allegedly able to send the women to Australia by exploiting the immigration system and falsely obtaining holiday and partner visas.

Court documents alleged the women were given scripts to repeat to border officials if they were questioned about their travels. 

One example of a script included in the documents showed women were told to tell authorities they worked as a manager and earned around $770 a week.

Brazilian police made a series of arrests in April 2021 with the crackdown alerting Australian authorities to the secretive operations on home soil (stock image)

Brazilian police made a series of arrests in April 2021 with the crackdown alerting Australian authorities to the secretive operations on home soil (stock image)

They were allegedly told to say they wanted to spend two weeks in Australia as a tourist and to act confidently and ‘say the same things’. 

Transcripts included in the court documents showed conversations between Lucas and the crime bosses discussing payments from the sex workers.

The women allegedly had to pay $2,000 upfront before they were sent to Australia and then half of their earnings to the manager. 

Court documents alleged the conversations also touched on plans to expand the sex trafficking scheme. 

‘Right now, we have 3 girls, and I am bringing another one, but there is one that is going back in August, and they will be working while I am not here, but when I come back, we are planning to have 8 girls,’ Lucas said in the documents.

‘So, this is our plan. When I come back, if you have the girls from the second batch with their visas ready, we can organise to bring them immediately. We have to be prepared to pick it up, and then be able to replace girls as quickly as possible.’

***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk