Seven Moldovan nationals have been arrested on charges of human trafficking. Prosecutors believe they have been in the trafficking business for as many as 15 years, forcing women who had sought good-paying jobs abroad into practicing panhandling in countries like Ukraine, Belarus or Russia.

The Special Cases Prosecutor’s Office said in a press release the investigation identified a woman who had been forced to become a panhandler in Ukraine back since 2003, when she was only 16 years old. She did it for ten years, and her multiple attempts to run away, without a passport, invariably led to her captors chasing her down and forcing her back into begging through beatings and threats.

The woman was also taken to Russia and Belarus, where she begged for money in the street alongside local victims. At the end of every day the organizers would claim all of the earnings, save for some food money.

Following searches, the suspects were found to be in possession of a stack of passports belonging to potential victims, documents confirming bank transfers abroad, and a large pile of cash, amounting to over 700,000 lei ($39,170).

Investigations continue.