Freed 15 women victims of trafficking in various places in the Region of Murcia and Almería

According to the investigation, they were forced to practice prostitution under burdensome and abusive conditions. In an intimidating and secluded environment, they were controlled through video surveillance cameras, they had to ask permission to go outside and they could not refuse any service.

Women received around 50% of the profits obtained, were forced to consume narcotic substances and in exceptional cases were freed from sexual exploitation, but in exchange they were exploited for work performing functions as managers in brothels. In addition, in the case of the network based in Lorca, the exploiters rotated the victims between the brothels every 15 days to guarantee clients have new women.

They were vulnerable girls, captured mainly in Colombia and Ecuador where they were tricked into flying to Spain. After arriving in the country, they were transferred to the different brothels where they were watched and forced into prostitution. During their recruitment, the alleged criminals helped finance and prepare the trip and gave them the necessary instructions to cross the border.

The police investigation began with a complaint received in the email ‘trata@policía.es’ from the Service for Attention to Victims of Human Trafficking of the National Police, which also coincided in time with the statements provided by several people who claimed to be victims of these networks.

The investigations carried out by the agents and directed by the Investigating Court number 1 of Lorca made it possible to verify the existence of two criminal organizations, one in Murcia and the other in Lorca, dedicated, allegedly, to the trafficking of women for their exploitation in brothels located in different locations in the Region of Murcia and Almería.

The two networks, which would have collaborated in the past, carried out their activity independently, but with a similar ‘modus operandi’. The search of 7 brothel floors and 3 homes was carried out, in which 29,000 euros and 5,000 dollars in cash, two vehicles, several grams of cocaine, marijuana and hashish, various electronic devices and abundant documentation of interest to the investigation.

This operation is part of the National Police Plan against Trafficking in Human Beings for the Purpose of Sexual Exploitation. The National Police has the telephone line ‘900 105 090’ and the email ‘[email protected]’ to facilitate citizen collaboration and anonymous and confidential reporting of this type of crime, the call not being reflected on the bill phone.