Spain’s National Police and Guardia Civil have released twelve female victims of sexual exploitation who lived in the basement of a house in Madrid in inhumane conditions and were forced to prostitute themselves through a network that was dismantled.
In a statement today, the Spanish Police Directorate General announced that the victims – including a person with a 67% intellectual disability – were forced to be on call 24 hours a day and sexually exploited.
The network was dismantled and 12 people were arrested, 11 of its members were detained in Madrid and one in Las Palmas, as suspected suspects of crimes related to 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 descent and with family ties, deceptively recruited the victims from their countries of origin, taking advantage of their vulnerable situation and with the promise of dignified and well-paid work.
The network took care of all the necessary procedures and costs for the women to enter Spain and upon arrival at their destination, the victims were told that they had incurred a debt to the organization, amounting to up to three times the actual cost of the trip. .
The debt had to be paid off through prostitution and to this end the women were taken to a house in Madrid, where they were subjected to strict control.
The women lived cramped in the basement, without windows, in unsanitary conditions and could not go outside, under penalty of a fine if they did not comply with the conditions imposed.
The victims also had to pay for housing and food.
Cocaine was also trafficked at home, 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 photo shoot to promote themselves on internet pages where they offered their sexual services.
The organization had a strong infrastructure in Spain, including a building used as a brothel, and managed to raise 1.2 million euros through a platform.
During police searches of two properties – one in Madrid and the other in Fuentiduenã de Tajo (Madrid) – officers released the twelve women and seized 30,000 euros, 30 grams of cocaine, 13 grams of marijuana and documentation related to the activities seizure. research .
The organizations Operation Underground Railroad and Amar Dragoste worked together in the operation to help the victims.
Source: DN
