Brazil police arrest sect members for enslavement

[muriel_volestrangler]

Brazilian police have arrested 13 members of a religious sect on suspicion of enslavement, human trafficking and money laundering.

Sect leaders are accused of seizing the possessions of followers and making them work unpaid.

Police raided several businesses as part of an investigation into the sect, known as The Evangelical Community of Jesus, the Truth that Marks.
...
Police say the church's hierarchy converted the huge profits from donations and unpaid labour into land, houses and luxury cars.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-42969747

[Voltaire2]

1. What about the Roman Empire?

They had slaves too. So there!

Or some other what about bullshit.

[MineralMan]

2. Well, Christianity has endorsed slavery before,

So I guess this shouldn't be a surprise. Fortunately, secular governments have laws against such abuses. Who know what things might be like without those laws?

[struggle4progress]

3. This appears to be an extensive criminal enterprise, under investigation since 2010/2011

Press coverage dates to 2005 or earlier. There were prior arrests in 2013 and 2015/2016 (when Cícero Vicente de Araújo was arrested and briefly detained). The latest arrests appear to concern enslaved workers at a number of commercial establishments

http://www.otempo.com.br/cidades/seita-jesus-a-verdade-que-marca-foi-multada-em-r-200-mil-1.1090361
http://g1.globo.com/mg/sul-de-minas/noticia/2016/02/pf-indicia-43-pessoas-ligadas-seita-jesus-verdade-que-marca-em-mg.html
http://www.otempo.com.br/cidades/pf-indicia-43-membros-de-seita-que-escravizava-fi%C3%A9is-no-sul-de-minas-1.1236863
http://www.correio24horas.com.br/noticia/nid/operacao-contra-seita-suspeita-de-escravizar-fieis-interdita-restaurante-na-bahia/
https://g1.globo.com/mg/sul-de-minas/noticia/fieis-de-seita-religiosa-investigada-em-mg-acreditam-em-ameaca-de-entidade-sobrenatural-diz-pf.ghtml

[MineralMan]

4. Throughout history, there have been criminal enterprises

operated in the name of Jesus. This is just one example. A reference to Jesus is no assurance that you are dealing with an ethical business or person. A fish outline on the front door may just be bait to draw you in to be hooked and played.