POLICE IN PERU have rescued almost 300 women that they believe were forced into prostitution in the Amazon area of the region.

Peru’s Deputy Interior Ministry said that 10 minors were among those rescued by the authorities. The youngest was a 13-year-old girl, according to the Washington Post.

The BBC reports that more than 400 police were involved in a three-day operation targeting a jungle region in the state of Madre de Dios, known for illegal goldmining. Police say that the 293 women were rescued from 60 brothels.

Thousands of fortune-seekers have travelled to Madre de Dios as part of a gold rush that experts say is destroying rain forest – as tons of mercury, used in processing the gold, have contaminated the area.

Five alleged traffickers have been arrested in the city of Puerto Maldonado.

Watch La Republica’s video report:

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