Spanish police announced Tuesday the bust of a major sex trafficking network, arresting dozens of suspects and freeing over a hundred predominantly South American migrants from effective sex slavery.
A joint operation carried out by Spain’s National Police, Civil Guard, and Customs Surveillance Service arrested 37 people across the provinces of Alicante, Castellón, Malaga, Murcia, and Valencia, suspected of operating a sophisticated trafficking operation with a focus on prostituting female migrants.
According to El Pias, the network focused specifically on South American women without residence or work permits. The police operation saw the release of 162 women, who the group allegedly forced into prostitution.
The women were under constant watch through video CCTV surveillance systems, slept in tight, unsanitary quarters with bunk beds, and were only allowed to leave the premises for around two hours per day in the morning.
Police said that the trafficking network had disguised their operation through purchasing or renting legal businesses or properties to appear to be legitimate, often massage parlours.
In addition to the arrests, Spanish police carried out 39 raids across seven different provinces, including the homes of 11 suspected leaders of the organisation. Officers seized 141,000 euros and three vehicles, while the bank accounts of those allegedly involved have been frozen.
A parallel investigation is still underway into potential money laundering of the profits from the criminal enterprise, with paper and digital records having been seized. Over 60 bank accounts have been identified as linked to the operation so far.
Amid growing illegal immigration from South America, it appears that traffickers have increasingly sought to exploit female migrants from the continent.
In February, over 1,000 women of mostly Colombian and Venezuelan origin were freed from another sex trafficking ring, which had promised them work in beauty salons or cleaning crews, but ultimately forced them into prostitution.
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