MOSCOW, February 14 (RIA Novosti) – Over 30 women forced to work as prostitutes by a criminal gang have been freed after a police operation, police said on Thursday.

“The women were abducted in the Moscow region, held against their will and taken to other regions,” the police statement said.

Police said the gang had organized brothels across central and south Russia, including Moscow and Sochi, the host city for the 2014 Winter Olympics.

The raids to free the women took place simultaneously, police said. Weapons and explosives were seized during the operation.