Walter Finch
The dramatic moment an international team of police officers storm a French home where vulnerable women were being exploited for sex slavery was captured on video.
Eleven women were freed after the cruel transnational sex trafficking gang, which operated a call centre in Spain, was dismantled.
The video shows officers from Spain, France and Colombia entering the home and finding a number of vulnerable women who were then rescued from captivity.
Two premises were also raided in Malaga province and one in Madrid, with six people in Spain were arrested, €17,000 seized and 33 mobile phones confiscated.
They are accused of trafficking in human beings for the purpose of sexual exploitation, prostitution, money laundering and membership in a criminal organisation.
The women, all of South American origin, were duped into coming to France with the false promise of work, and were then locked up and forced into prostitution in the Paris area.
In total 12 people have been arrested, with half in Spain, four in France and two in Colombia across 25 searches of homes and premises.
The Spanish call centre connected customers in France to the trafficking gang that controlled the women, who were forced to have sex with the men in hotels and apartments in the outer Paris region, according to Spanish police.
The operation, which was a collaboration between police forces in France, Spain, Colombia and Europol, was triggered when French authorities learned of the prostitution ring and issued a European investigation order.
Initial investigations by French police found a transnational network that sourced the victims in South America, carried out the forced prostitution in France, and performed much of the administration in Spain.
Investigators also found that the online ads that promoted the sexual services of the exploited women were made in Spain.
Human trafficking has risen to become the third most profitable criminal activity globally after the trafficking of drugs and arms.
The victims of this crime are usually vulnerable people, especially women, children and men in tough physical or economic conditions, accustomed to discrimination and who do not put up great resistance, according to the National Police.
For those who suspect that someone might be a victim of human trafficking and slavery, they are advised to file a complaint with the police, who can then look into the matter.
