Spanish police have dismantled one of the largest criminal organisations in Spain, in terms of the number of victims affected, which is dedicated to the sexual exploitation of women of Latin American origin, an operation that resulted in the arrest of twenty-five people.
During the months that the investigation lasted, more than 500 women, mostly Colombian, were allegedly exploited in the city of Malaga (southern Spain), according to police reports.
The working conditions imposed by the criminal organisation were abusive and put women’s health at serious risk. They were forced to work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, even when they were menstruating. They might not choose or reject any client or service and had to do so without using a condom, which caused several women to contract sexually transmitted diseases.
In addition, and to exercise greater control over them, they were constantly monitored by cameras installed in the apartments, which they might only leave for two hours a day with prior authorization from the caretakers.
Eleven victims have been released and eight of the twenty-five people arrested have already been sent to prison. The agents closed down the four brothels in the network and carried out house searches in which they seized 145,338 euros in cash and 1.2 kilos of cocaine.
The investigation began with three complaints to the Spanish police channels once morest Human Trafficking for Sexual Exploitation to facilitate citizen collaboration and anonymous and confidential reporting of this type of crime.
WITH THE PROMISE OF WORKING IN BEAUTY CLINICS
The network, which was perfectly structured and had a large number of members, recruited a significant portion of the victims in their countries of origin, mainly Colombia.
The women, who were in a situation of great economic hardship, were often tricked into travelling to Spain with a false job offer in a beauty centre that the organisation owned in this country.
However, once in Spanish territory, they were informed of the debt they had contracted with their exploiters for the management and expenses of the trip, and they warned the victims that they had to pay off the amount by engaging in prostitution, although they continued to increase the debt through unjustified sanctions and fines.
The network, which is estimated to have had an annual profit of over one and a half million euros, was also engaged in distributing narcotic substances in the flats it controlled and forcing women to consume them and encouraging their use among clients in order to make the services last longer and thus generate greater profits, which in some cases also resulted in injuries to the victims.
With information from EFE
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2024-07-03 18:53:10
