Alex Trelinski
POLICE have freed 11 sexually exploited women and arrested ten people for their part in the racket in Benidorm, Denia, and Gata de Gorgos.
The Policia Nacional probe started last November when some of the victims escaped and phoned a special hotline for trafficking victims.
The women were lured to Spain from Columbia with false job promises but were shackled with a €5,000 debt and forced into prostitution to repay what they owed.
Like with other similar criminal enterprises, the women were paid a pittance and charged extortionate rates for accommodation and clothing, while being sexually exploited at addresses around Alicante province.
The victims were monitored constantly by security cameras and threatened by the criminals as well as being forced into having unprotected sex with some clients.
The gang leader has also been charged with attacking one of the women.
All of the criminal organisation’s members had defined roles including recruitment, booking flights, transfers, surveillance, collections, leasing of flats and keeping financial accounts.
The ten detainees- aged between 18 and 65- are of Colombian, Argentine and Spanish nationalities.
The Policia Nacional impounded over €12,000 in cash, 830 grams of marijuana, several surveillance cameras, and a high-end vehicle.
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