Eighteen members of a Colombian gang have been arrested in Spain for human trafficking and pimping, with the group accused of imprisoning women and forcing them into prostitution.
The gang is said to have operated in Almendralejo and Arrecife, where they lured victims with false job promises and trapped them in debt, withholding their identification until the debts were paid. A coordinated operation involving Spanish and Colombian authorities, supported by INTERPOL, led to the gang’s dismantling and the rescue of 18 victims.
The victims, most of whom are Colombian, were recruited in Colombia with promises of a better life in Spain. Instead, they were forced into prostitution, a press release from Spain’s interior ministry stated.
Police carried out raids against six locations across Spain, and in the process seized over €30,000, cocaine, erectile dysfunction pills, mobile phones, and various documents. The police sweeps led to the arrest of 18 individuals, who’ve been charged with crimes including but not limited to human trafficking for sexual purposes, forced prostitution, drug trafficking, and more.
