Agents of the National Police have released six victims of sexual exploitation in Salamanca and have arrested seven members of a criminal organization allegedly dedicated to human trafficking that operated at European level that took advantage of the victims' poverty situation.
During the operation, five entries and searches were carried out - four in Salamanca and one in Madrid - in which several mobile phones, narcotic substances, 38 detonating weapon cartridges and documentation related to the investigation were seized.
The criminal network recruited women in vulnerable situations and with family responsibilities, and used a wide network of collaborators based in Colombia and Venezuela, who received a financial compensation of 500 euros for each victim captured, explains the Ministry of the Interior through a statement. .
The members of the criminal network persuaded the victim to travel to Europe by simulating a tourist trip to access the Schengen area, taking out travel insurance and booking a hotel. In addition, those involved were responsible for sending the victims the cash or 'per diem' required at border controls to prove sufficient means during their stay as tourists.
Once the victims arrived in the destination country, the organization recovered this money. For all this, the organization generated a debt for each victim that ranged between 6,000 and 8,000 euros.
Sometimes, their exploitation began when they were first transferred to the city of Bogotá, where they stayed temporarily until the documentation to travel to Europe was processed. Other times, victims traveled directly from their country of origin to the European cities of Madrid, Lisbon, Paris or Amsterdam.
The members of the network deceived their victims by saying that they could pay off the travel debt in about three weeks. Once in Spain, those involved forced their victims to practice prostitution in rental apartments in different cities in Europe to pay said debt. They often moved them to different locations to make it more profitable for them and to make their criminal activity more difficult to detect.
The scheme required abusive conditions for the practice of prostitution, such as paying the rent for the apartments where they were exploited. The women were unaware of the amount of this debt, as well as the additional charges that were imposed on them for living expenses, purchasing condoms, even commission for publishing advertisements for sexual services or serving clients, which implied a servitude that was perpetuated along with their debt. The network exercised absolute control over its victims, the information details.
The operation, which has had international police cooperation, has managed to uncover a criminal plot whose criminal activity consisted mainly of sexually exploiting vulnerable women, who were deceived by the promise of being able to enter Europe.
The police investigation has culminated in the release of six victims of sexual exploitation in the city of Salamanca. Seven people have been arrested in Madrid (2), Valencia (1), Salamanca (2), Amsterdam (1) and Bogotá (1), for the crimes of trafficking in human beings for sexual exploitation, membership in a criminal organization , against the rights of foreign citizens and related to prostitution.
In addition, five entries and searches have been carried out, four in Salamanca and one in Madrid, in which several mobile phones, narcotic substances (cocaine), 38 detonating weapon cartridges and documentation related to the investigation have been seized.
