Madrid, July 23, (dpa/GNA) – The Spanish authorities have freed 162 women, who were being forced to work as prostitutes by a suspected human trafficking gang, the police announced on Tuesday.
The National Police said thirty-seven people had been arrested, while nine of the suspects have been remanded in custody.
Most of the victims are said to come from South America. The highly organized gang is said to have converted apartments and business premises in holiday regions such as Valencia, Alicante, Málaga and Murcia into “massage parlours.”
The women were monitored around the clock and forced into prostitution. The victims lived in appalling conditions, had hardly any freedom, and had to hand over most of their earnings.
They were recruited both directly in their countries of origin and in Spain, the police said. Most of them were living in poverty and had neither residence nor work permits in Spain.
The police statement said in the brothels, the women “slept crammed into bunk beds or directly in the same bed in which they received clients.” Most of the rooms were kept locked.
During 39 searches across the country, €141,000 (around $165,000) in cash and three vehicles were seized.
The investigations are ongoing, and the police say money laundering allegations are also being investigated. More than 60 bank accounts and numerous assets had been frozen.
GNA