The National Police has broken up an organisation dedicated to introducing South American women into Spain for the purpose of forcing them into prostitution. Three members of the organisation, two Spaniards and a Brazilian, were arrested and fourteen others detained for illegal residence in Spain.
The organisation would recruit women in Brazil with promises of work as cleaners with a €500 monthly wage but without food or accommodation. Travel expenses were paid and the women were provided with sufficient money to justify a stay in Spain as a tourist.
Once in Spain, the women were told that they owed €3,000 and could not leave without repaying the money, with threats of harming their familes back in Brazil if they did not agree to work in ‘alternative’ clubs as prostitutes or if they went to the police.
The organisation used three different clubs, two in Don Benito, Badajoz, and one in Pozoblanco, Córdoba. Eventually, one of the women agreed to cooperate with the police and this led to the breaking-up of the organisation.