The Foreign Ministry and the Department of Smuggling and Trafficking of the Attorney General reported yesterday that hey had begun investigations into the complaint made by two Dominican women who claim that they were lured to a brothel on the island of St. Maarten, where they say, were kidnapped, tortured and beaten.

According to prosecutors in the division in charge of Deputy Attorney Frank Soto, the complaint has the characteristics of typical cases of trafficking, however the investigations are currently underway.

On Wednesday Alcántara Carolina Vizcaino, 28, and Rosa Iris Jimenez, 21 complained to authorities at Las Americas International Airport that they kept in a brothel for eight days where employees removed their finger nails for refusing to have sex with clients. The women said there are still in place 9 other girls under the same conditions, but they had managed to escae and made contact with other Dominicans who helped them return home.

The Deputy Minister for Consular Affairs and Immigration, Rosario Graciano de los Santos, said he has contacted the consulate in San Martin to verify the complaint.