Police rumble Palma slave trade

Police have smashed an international prostitution and “slave” network operating from Palma to the mainland and across the European Union. Police chiefs stated yesterday that the cartel specialised in smuggling Nigerian women into Spain to work as either prostitutes on the streets or in “alternative” clubs and bars, in particular in Majorca. The police also said that the smuggled women, kept under strict controls upon arrival, have in a number of cases been “sold” to private individuals for two million pesetas each. The nationwide police operation, which involved a number of specialist fraud and immigration units, has resulted with the arrest of 20 people, 14 of the detained are Nigerian, but one is a Briton. According to the police, apart from involvement in the prostitution and “slavery” trade in Majorca, the criminal network was also involved in manufacturing counterfeit credit cards.