The victims, vulnerable women of Latin American origin, were lured with fake offers of work on social media. They were held for weeks in flats where they were forced to work as prostitutes to pay off a specific debt, in some case as much as 3,000 euros. A dozen people were arrested, ten of them in Barcelona and two in Valencia. Three of the main ringleaders are being held provisionally in prison.
Officers from the City Police and the National Police collaborated with EUROPOL to dismantle a criminal organisation that was exploiting women of Latin American origin in brothels in Barcelona and Valencia.
The criminal ring, with connections in Madrid and Gandia (Valencia), used various social media to lure women, offering fake jobs and promises of financial stability in Spain.
In all, seven women have been freed and a dozen people detained (ten in Barcelona and two in Valencia). Three of the main ringleaders are being held provisionally in prison for presumed involvement in the crimes of human trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation, illegal detention, sexual aggressions, threats, drug trafficking and crimes against foreign citizens.
Background for the investigation
The investigation began in March this year, following a police inspection at a club in the centre of Barcelona, where several women explained they had been exploited previously at a flat used as a brothel in the city. They had been lured by social media beforehand, with apparent offers of work as models and escorts, and obliged to pose nude or semi-nude in photography sessions which they had to pay 150 euros for.
Capture and debt
The victims (from various countries in Latin America) were duped with false profiles offering work as models or in massage parlours and spas, with salaries of supposedly between 1,300 and 2,000 euros a month, accommodation, food and plane tickets. All this generated a debt of between 2,000 and 3,000 euros with the criminal gang.
Once in Spain, the members of the organisation took away their passports and forced them into prostitution. The women would be held for weeks or months under constant watch, getting no remuneration and under the threat of reprisals against their families if they tried to escape. They also suffered rape and aggressions by one of the members of the network, to force them to maintain sexual relations with “VIP clients”.
Dismantling of the network
Thanks to the police operation, the organisation has been completely dismantled. It was responsible for brothels operating in Barcelona and also had operational connections in Madrid and Gandia.
During the final stage of the investigation the police raided these brothels (four in Barcelona and one in Gandia) and some premises in the Catalan capital, where confiscations included:
- 15,180 euros in cash
- Large quantities of drugs
- Three luxury watches
- Various items of gold jewellery
- Documentation relevant to the investigation