The network had been active since 2011 and expressly "recruited" young, underage females in situations of economic hardship or domestic abuse to work as "sex slaves" catering to Israeli tourists visiting Colombia.

Colombian authorities first began to investigate the sex slavery network in June 2016 following the murder of Israeli citizen Shay Azran in the Colombian city of Medellín. Soon after, Azran's murderer was found to be another Israeli, Assi Ben Mush, an ex-IDF soldier who was known for his past involvement in both drug and human trafficking in the early 2000s. However, Mush was never arrested for Azran's murder.

As authorities delved deeper into Mush's current activities while investigating the homicide, they determined that he was the owner of a hostel in Cartagena, Colombia and that he was also one of the coordinators of "tourism" packages sold exclusively to Israeli men visiting Colombia.