The National Police and the Civil Guard freed 12 women victims of sexual exploitation who lived overcrowded in the basement of a house in Madrid in inhumane conditions and were forced into prostitution through a network, which was dismantled.
In a statement, the General Directorate of the Spanish Police announced this Thursday that the victims – among them a person with 67% intellectual disability – were forced to be available 24 hours a day and be sexually exploited.
The network was dismantled and 12 people were arrested, 11 of the members were detained in Madrid and one in Las Palmas, as suspected of crimes of human trafficking, participation in a criminal organization and related to prostitution, against the rights of foreign citizens. , pornography and against public health.
The suspects, of South American origin and with family ties, recruited the victims in their countries of origin in a deceptive manner, taking advantage of their vulnerable situation and with the promise of a decent and well-paid job.
The network took care of all the procedures and expenses necessary for the women to enter Spain and, upon reaching their destination, the victims were informed that they had contracted a debt with the organization, which amounted to three times the actual expenses. From the trip. .
The debt had to be paid through prostitution and, to do so, the women were taken to a house in Madrid, where they were subjected to strict control.
The women lived overcrowded in the basement, without windows, in unsanitary conditions and without being able to go outside, under penalty of being fined if they did not comply with the imposed conditions.
The victims also had to pay for room and board.
Cocaine was also trafficked in the house, and it was the women who had to carry it when they went abroad.
The members of the network also subjected the women to a photographic report as a way of promoting themselves on the Internet pages where they offered their sexual services.
The organization had a solid infrastructure in Spain, including a property used as a brothel, and managed to raise 1.2 million euros through a platform.
In police searches carried out in two properties – one in Madrid and the other in Fuentiduenã de Tajo (Madrid) – the agents freed the 12 women and seized 30,000 euros, 30 grams of cocaine, 13 grams of marijuana and documentation related to the activities investigated. investigation.
The organizations Operación Ferrocarril Subterráneo and Amar Dragoste collaborated in the operation to help the victims.
Source: TSF
