Eighteen women, most of Colombian origin, have been freed in an international operation against human trafficking. As reported by the National Police, which has participated in the operation together with the Civil Guard, the Colombian Police and Interpol, the victims were captured in their country to be sexually exploited in Spain.
Those responsible for this criminal network traveled to Colombia, where They captured the most vulnerable victimsin poverty or without work or income. They were promised a better future in Spain with their work and family needs covered, and they were put on a plane assuming all the costs: passport, ticket, customs and border management, etc.
Thus, the women acquired a debt that reached 3,400 euros and, until they could pay it, any personal documentation was removed from them.
Once they arrived in Spain, the exploiters directed them to the town of Almendralejo in Badajoz or to Lanzarote. In both places they had clubhouses where they were subjected to prostitution.
According to the victims’ testimonies, the exploiters forced them to be available 24 hours a day, with a maximum of two or three free hours. If they did not comply, they were financially penalized. In addition, they were obliged to ask clients to invite them to drinks and to offer them narcotic substances and medicines. To ensure that they complied with all this, all common areas had cameras that recorded everything that happened in the house.
Almost twenty arrests
The searches have seized more than 30,000 euros in cash, 32 doses of cocaine, more than 130 pills for erectile dysfunction, six mobile phones, as well as various documentation and computer material related to the investigation.
In total 18 women have been released, 11 in Almendralejo and seven in Arrecife (Lanzarote) and 18 people have been arrested in the two towns, of which six have already been imprisoned. They are charged with the crimes of trafficking in human beings for the purposes of sexual exploitation, coercive prostitution, drug trafficking, distribution of medicines, against the rights of foreign citizens, crime against the rights of workers and membership in a criminal organization.
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