Spanish police said on Sunday that they had dismantled a human trafficking ring that had lured more than 1,000 women to the country over the past year with false job offers before forcing them into sex work.
The women, who were mainly from Venezuela and Colombia, were told they would be working in the beauty or cleaning sectors, the Spanish National Police said in a statement.
‘The victims, mainly of South American origin, were recruited in their home countries and lured to Spain with bogus job offers,’ police stated.
‘On arrival in Spain they were transferred to clubs where they were sexually exploited and forced to work all hours.’
The women were only allowed out for two hours per day and were kept under video surveillance, the police said.
Three alleged ring leaders — two Colombian women and a Spaniard — were among 48 suspects arrested in raids in Alicante and Murcia, and three strip clubs were closed as part of the operation.
Six of those arrested are being held in pre-trial detention, police stated. They also said they had rescued 48 women in the operation.
The police statement said that ‘a total of eight house searches were carried out in Alicante (7) and Murcia (1) in which eight prohibited weapons and more than €150,000 in cash were seized, a further €930,000 blocked in bank accounts, 17 properties immobilised and three strip clubs closed’.
🚩Liberadas 48 mujeres víctimas de #trata que eran explotadas sexualmente en clubs de alterne
🔴48 detenidos en #Alicante y #Murcia de una organización criminal que habría explotado a más de 1.000 mujeres
🔴Ocho registros realizados y tres clubs de alterne clausurados pic.twitter.com/GKbJFfN3ph
— Policía Nacional (@policia) February 23, 2025
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