Major Crackdown on Human Trafficking Organization in Spain
Exploiting Economic Hardships to Facilitate Overseas Sex Trade
A human trafficking organization that recruited only women from South American countries to facilitate prostitution was extensively arrested in Spain.
On the 18th (local time), according to local media such as EN and Headtopic, Spanish police arrested seven people, including the ringleader, on charges of luring women from Colombia and Venezuela and arranging overseas prostitution expeditions.
The victimized women were targeted for overseas prostitution, suffering sexual exploitation in two locations: Madrid and Ourense, Spain. The organization enticed women through social networking services (SNS) by promising that they could earn at least 3,000 euros (4.3 million won) per month if they worked in Spain.
Most of the women who fell for the scam were reportedly from financially difficult households. The police stated, "Upon investigating the victims, it was revealed that they had debts of at least 3,000 euros."
The women who came to Spain after receiving airline tickets and cash from the organization stayed at luxury hotels, never imagining they would become targets of prostitution. The organization told them they had to wait until an interview date was scheduled.
Additionally, the organization provided the women with meals at upscale restaurants for every meal. The expenses incurred this way turned into enormous debts for them, and they were threatened to pay interest on the cash they had been given.
The police said, "The victimized women worked 24 hours a day, seven days a week without weekends, and when they occasionally went out, two to three men monitored them." The police raided two prostitution establishments and found 18,000 euros (about 26 million won) in cash, two mobile phones, drugs, and forged documents.
They also said, "Five women who were sexually exploited were from Venezuela and Colombia," adding, "These countries are known in South America for producing the most Miss Universe winners and have a very strong image as 'countries of beauties.'"
They continued, "The organization exploited this fact to distribute advertisements that attracted women's attention," and added, "The victimized women decided to work overseas believing only the claim that they were recruiting well-groomed women for service jobs."
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