BUENOS AIRES, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- Working-class Argentine women are being forced into the sex trade in ever higher numbers by kidnappers, tricksters and gangsters, the United Nations said in a report published by the Argentine press on Tuesday.

    The International Migration Organization, a branch of the United Nations, said that corrupt police officials are a key part of the sex trade. Judges, police and other legal officers are frequently named as accomplices of the pimps.

    The northeast Argentine province of Misiones has the highest incidence of the trade, while in Santa Fe, Mendoza and Entre Rios, pimping groups run brothels of up to 30 women, renting them to bars and moving them frequently.

    While most of the women trapped in the trade are Argentines, there are also women from Paraguay, who are trafficked in via the border provinces of Misiones and Entre Rios. They are sold by their captors for as little as 100 Argentine pesos (about 33 U.S. dollars), or as much as 5,000 pesos (about 1,600 dollars).

    "Kidnapping is a common way to capture women, especially in the (northeastern) provinces of Tucuman, close to La Rioja," the report said. "The victims are both adults and minors, mostly from humble households living in poor areas with very basic education, which reduces their chances of getting other work."

    The victims are usually offered jobs in restaurants, factories or hospitals, while recruiters sometimes pretend to be a married couple, bringing along children to help ease the fears of the women.