A recently retired policeman and his Russian wife have been arrested for allegedly running a human-trafficking ring that pushed young women from Russia into prostitution in Greece, police said yesterday.

The 51-year-old former officer and his wife, 47, as well as the 53-year-old owner of a strip club were taken into custody on Monday on suspicion of bringing two 19-year-old Russian twins into the country so they could exploit them.

The woman’s 17-year-old niece in Russia is suspected of convincing the teenagers to come to Greece while her 22-year-old son allegedly arranged to secure the necessary forged documents.

Police said that the twins were kept locked up on arriving in Greece a week ago and told that they had to work at a strip club to pay back 1,600 euros to their captors.