Fifteen women have been freed from a prostitution ring that forced them to work in brothels in Spain after being deceived in their native countries, Colombia and Ecuador, reports El Universo of Guayaquil, Ecuador.
The Spanish Police were alerted to this human trafficking network that operated in the provinces of Murcia and Almería.
The women were recruited in their home countries and convinced through deception, due to their financial need, to travel to Spain where they were expecting to find paid jobs as domestics.
“These women were forced to practice prostitution in burdensome and abusive conditions. In an intimidating and secluded environment, they were controlled through video surveillance cameras, they had to ask permission to go out and they could not refuse any service , ” said a Spanish police statement.
In addition, the victims only received around 50% of the benefits obtained, they were forced to consume narcotic substances and in a few cases were they freed from sexual exploitation, but in exchange they had to perform the work of managers in brothels, mentioned the release.
In the operation, the agents dismantled two gangs that were dedicated to human trafficking and arrested 16 involved . The entity explained that seven detainees entered pretrial detention .
In some houses that the police searched, they found about 29,000 euros and 5,000 dollars in cash, different drugs and two vehicles.
Several similar raids have been carried out by police in recent years, usually involving women trafficked from South America to Spain with promises of legitimate paid employment.
Prostitution is legal in Spain, and it is estimated that there are about 45,000 women currently involved in that trade, many of them from overseas.
