Six Bulgarians, members of a Russian spy ring have been sentenced to over 50 years for using covert tactics like drones, disguised vehicles, and even children’s toys rigged with hidden recording devices to spy on targets across the U.K. and Europe.
The rescue operation was initiated after an online activist exposed the exploitation of the girls, who were tricked into traveling to Ivory Coast for work, only to be coerced into sex work. Four of the victims, all of them minors, were found to be pregnant.
The latest Human Rights Watch report accuses major U.S. gig platforms—apps that hire workers for on-demand tasks—of systematically exploiting them through algorithmic control, misclassification, and poverty-level wages.