Police break up gang who trafficked in people

Staff Reporter THE National Police yesterday arrested eighteen people, one of them in Majorca, who were all part of an organisation which was dedicated to trafficking people and then forcing them to be prostitutes in various Spanish cities, including Palma. Those arrested are either from Nigeria or Morocco, and have been allegedly introducing women from their homeland into prostitution by threatening to kill them and their families, said a spokesperson from the Ministry for the Interior. The successful police operation was carried out by agents in the National Police Force, working closely with the Police Headquarters in Madrid, the Balearic Islands, Puerto del Rosario and Vigo. The police operation started five months ago, after one of women forced to be part of this prostitution ring, went to the police. In her declaration, she claimed she was captured in Nigeria and brought into Spain after a journey from Nigeria-Mali-Morocco-Malaga. Once she got to Spain she was forced to be a prostitute in various cities. The investigations led the police to the conclusion that this ring was operating not only in Madrid and Fuerteventura, but also in Vigo, Palma and the Mostoles region. The police operation has identified all the members of the group and those who allegedly helped them based in Morocco and Mali. The police have also obtained the bank accounts used by the women who were forced to prostitution. They estimate that the prostitution ring has obtained around 4 million euros, taking into account that the women were obliged to give their “captors” 45'000 euros for “services” rendered. If the women refused to become prostitutes, then the ring would allegedly offer them the possibility of being drug-taffickers, in addition to beating them up and assaulting them. Of the eighteen people arrested, sixteen have been charged with crimes against the rights of foreign residents, prostitution, using false documentation, drug trafficking, forging money and aggressive behaviour. The other two were in Spain illegally.