Human Trafficking

Five women freed in an operation against human trafficking for sexual exploitation

The Spanish National Police and the Civil Guard in the so-called “Carpathian-Liberty-Luboca” operation, have detained seven people belonging to a criminal organization dedicated to trafficking in human beings for the purpose of sexual exploitation. During the operation five women have been released from prostitution against their will. The agents have carried out ten entries and searches – nine of them in the town of Caspe (Zaragoza) and one in Barcelona – and have released five victims of the organization.

The investigation began in June 2019 after taking a statement from a protected witness who, in his statement, revealed that he had been the victim of a possible criminal organization dedicated to trafficking in human beings for the purpose of sexual exploitation, having knowledge of that there were more people in the same situation.

On the other hand, in October 2019, an investigation was initiated after learning of an attack on an 18-year-old young woman, a foreign national and pregnant, which occurred in Caspe (Zaragoza). During the victim’s transfer to the hospital to treat him for the injuries he presented, it was found that he did not carry documentation (since it was not in his possession), as well as that he had not attended gynecological examinations due to his state of pregnancy, despite having been summoned for it.

After the investigation carried out, it was determined that the young woman worked in a hostess club located in the town of Caspe, without being insured as a worker in Social Security, and that a large part of the money she earned was given to the madame, which would be the in charge of transferring the victim from the workplace to his home so that he would not have contact with his clients outside the premises.

Months later and, after several steps, it was possible to identify several people related to the organization. After analyzing the information obtained, it was found that the victims were captured in their country of origin by a person residing in Spain who, with the promise of a better life, convinced them to come to our country to practice prostitution.

Once the offer was accepted, the women were forced to carry out breast augmentation surgery and were given the plane ticket and everything they needed to cross borders. All this is done with the collaboration of two family members, residents in the country of origin, who were in charge of transferring the surgeon and delivering them the plane tickets, in addition to giving them the precise instructions on what they must say when arriving in the Schengen area. so as not to have problems crossing borders.

Once in Spain, they were picked up by members of the organization and forced to engage in prostitution in various parts of the Spanish geography and in Germany, informing them then that they had acquired an exorbitant debt with them -between ten thousand and twelve thousand euros-, being constantly threatened by her and her partner, a German citizen, with doing some harm to them or their families if they did not meet those amounts. In addition, in order to achieve greater profitability from the victims every so often, it forces them to practice in different places such as Barcelona, ​​Oviedo, Zaragoza or Germany, also imposing the system of fines so that the debt gradually increases.

Among the places in which they were forced to practice prostitution was a club in the town of Caspe (Zaragoza). To get to the premises, the victims were picked up in Barcelona and taken by vehicle to the place. The organization had two people who served as lieutenants and under their control the prostitution club, as well as other businesses through which money from sexual exploitation is laundered and in which other members of the investigated organization work, such as a pizzeria and a gym, where banned anabolic substances are also trafficked.

Home searches, a hostess club, pizzeria and gym

As a result of the investigation, a total of 10 searches were carried out, 9 of them in the municipality of Caspe (Zaragoza) and one in Barcelona, ​​in the homes of the suspects and premises that were also run by the components of the organization, such as a hostess club, a gym and a pizzeria, the latter located in the city of Caspe.

In these searches, long weapons, a short weapon with its ammunition, a multitude of anabolic agents, more than 25,000 euros in cash, computer equipment and relevant documentation for the investigation were intervened, which are being analyzed by the specialists of both police forces.

Recruitment of victims

The way to capture the victims in the branch settled in Caspe was known as “LoverBoy”, consisting in that a man from the organization settled in the country of origin of the future victims, would be in charge of “cajoling” the women to get them to be her romantic partners and later convince them to travel to Spain by promising them a job in the hotel industry.

Once convinced, this person provided them with everything they needed to carry out the trip to our country, where other members of the network would be waiting for them to transfer them to a home where they were informed of the debt contracted and the activity they had to develop to pay it off. , being threatened with personal injury if they did not. After a while, the person in charge of capturing the women returned to Spain with the task of controlling the activity they carried out and even physically attacking some of them, whose attacks could have been camouflaged as episodes of gender violence by communicating that the attack had been made by your sentimental partner.

On another level would be those in charge of managing the money obtained in other premises of the organization to launder the money obtained both in prostitution and in drug and anabolic trafficking, whose sale was carried out on the premises themselves.

It should be noted that the head of the network, based in the municipality of Caspe, was in charge of supervising the activity of this organization. A person who kept strong self-protection measures, both carrying weapons and with personnel in charge of their security, maintaining a tight control of all the premises and their workers.