6 Israelis arrested over human trafficking

Six Israelis were arrested on Monday on suspicion that they headed a network of speech and hearing-impaired victims who were forced to roam the streets and beg for money.

Israeli police says then were residents of Rishon Lezion, Ashkelon, and Netanya, according to J-Post daily.

They are suspected of a litany of offenses including: human trafficking, false imprisonment, forced labor, assault, rape, and withholding passports.

The victims were forced to beg with notes, describing their disability and handing out dolls for money.

The suspects housed the victims in Netanya, illegally holding the victims’ passports and threatening them with violence and blackmail, the daily admitted.

One suspect is accused of sexually assaulting a victim, it said.