Three employees of a placement center for people with disabilities in Soroca were placed in preventive detention on accusations of trafficking in human beings and making people to submit false statements. Among those arrested is the director of the institution, IPN reports.

According to prosecutors of the Soroca district prosecutor's office, two defendants were remanded in custody for 30 days, and the third was placed under house arrest for the same period.

Investigators presume that, in the last four years, the center's employees had exploited the institution's beneficiaries through work, taking advantage of their vulnerability. People with intellectual disabilities were recruited, transported and housed at a farm of the accomplices, where they were forced to work without pay.

The victims did not report the situation they were in due to the fact that they were afraid of possible consequences, including related to their care.

Prosecutors continue the investigations to establish the extent of the crimes and the material benefits obtained by the accused.

If found guilty, the three will serve up to 20 years in prison for human trafficking. The sentence for crimes against justice, the penalty is at most three years in prison.