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Boys found selling to Playa del Carmen Fifth Avenue tourists victims of labor exploitation

Playa del Carmen, Q.R. — An investigation has lead police to the location of two minors believed victims of labor exploitation. The two children, both boys, were rescued by Playa del Carmen authorities from their home Saturday during a operation.

Over the weekend, authorities reported that the boys were picked up after being seen selling for several days along Fifth Avenue. At the end of their shift, authorities watched as the boys handed their earnings over to men who police witnessed mistreating them.

Their whereabouts was tracked down and the children removed from the home, however, the men were not at the home at the time police arrived and therefore, arrests were not made.

“The State Attorney General’s Office reports that derived from investigative acts, personnel from this social representation located two children working on the tourist walkway on 5th Avenue.

“For a few days they observed the minors and found that after several hours of work, they approached some men to whom they gave money and if not, they mistreated them.

“After locating the address where the minors lived, the Prosecutor’s Office obtained a search warrant for the place located in Diagonal Aeropuerto and Tercera Sur, where they rescued the two children who were in precarious conditions. They (the boys) said they were originally from Chiapas and they are in this municipality without their parents.”

Both boys were medically evaluated and placed under state protection. “Meanwhile, investigative work continues to find the whereabouts of the alleged exploiters,” the State Attorney said.