Secta S.A: the 19 detainees refused to testify

According to information from government sources, the 19 people detained in the case known as “Secta S.A.” refused to testify in the federal courts of Comodoro Py before Judge Ariel Lijo. In addition, he sent an arrest warrant on four other people living in the United States. Without exception, in all cases they refused to give an investigative statement, so they were returned to the warden of Madariaga.For their part, the detained women who arrived at the court took a similar attitude. In addition, spokesmen for the Justice indicated that, in addition to the current 19 detainees, the international capture of four other defendants who currently have residence in the United States was requested.Meanwhile, the crimes involved are trafficking in persons for the purpose of reduction to servitude -aggravated by coercion-, aggravated theft, money laundering, illicit association, illegal practice of medicine, irregular sale of medicines and influence peddling, police sources said. Other crimes such as aggravated theft, money laundering and illegal practice of medicine are also being investigated, along with the extent of the sect’s activities in the United States, according to the sources. The 19 people were arrested last Friday in the framework of 50 raids carried out in the city of Buenos Aires and the suburbs, within the framework of a case that investigates the organization to which they belong -BA GRoup and its subsidiaries Escuela de Yoga Buenos Ares (EYBA) and Clínica CMI Abasto- for trafficking in persons for the purpose of sexual and labor exploitation, according to police and judicial sources.

Original source in Spanish