Images
Plan of the National Police against Trafficking in Human Beings for the purpose of sexual exploitation
The National Police releases 11 prostituted women in a hostess club in Estépar (Burgos)
In the operation, four people have been arrested for belonging to a criminal organization, trafficking in human beings, crime against the rights of foreign citizens and crime against the rights of workers.
Researchers estimate that, since 2015, more than 200 women were victims of sexual exploitation by the dismantled organization
June 18, 2019.- The National Police has released 11 women, mostly of Ukrainian origin, who are prostitutes in a hostess club in Estépar (Burgos). The investigation began in 2015, a period in which it is estimated that more than 200 women were victims of sexual exploitation by the criminal organization. Four people, two Spaniards and two Ukrainians have been arrested for various crimes, among which stand out: membership of a criminal organization, trafficking in human beings, crime against the rights of foreign citizens and crime against the rights of workers. All of them remain in provisional detention.
The investigations began in 2015 when the agents learned that a member of the organization was recruiting women for sexual exploitation in a town in Burgos. The victims were captured through advertisements posted on the Internet and social networks, where jobs were offered by waitresses to work in a hotel in Spain with salaries much higher than those obtained in their countries of origin for a similar job. Once the women replied to the announcement, the captor, of Ukrainian origin, informed them that the expenses of the trip, the necessary documentation and accommodation were at the expense of the company and would be deducted proportionally from the salary.
When they landed in our country, either at the Madrid airport or at the Burgos airport, they were picked up by another member of the organization, transporting them in a vehicle to the supposed hotel where they were going to stay and to work as waitresses. To their surprise, upon arrival at the establishment they were told that they had contracted a debt of about 1,000 euros that should be paid prostitution in the same room where they were staying, without leaving them under any circumstances and receiving a vexatious treatment, threats and coercion.
The victims had to prostitute themselves in days of about 10 hours seven days a week, and to avoid that the debt contracted was quickly returned, the criminal gang had established a system of fines, constantly increasing the debt to keep women under more time. .
More than 200 women exploited
Researchers have estimated that more than 200 women of different nationalities have been forced into prostitution in the establishment located in the town of Burgos, mostly from eastern European countries such as Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria and Moldova. All these women had been deceived by the promise of a better paid job than in their countries of origin, using their situation of need and vulnerability to convince them.
The operation concluded with the entry and registration in the hostess club where 73,485 euros were intervened in cash, abundant documentation that accredits the criminal activity, various mobile and computer devices with relevant information for the investigation and two vehicles. Four people belonging to the criminal organization who have been imprisoned have been arrested. The establishment remains closed and all the bank accounts of the detainees have been blocked.