48 arrested for sexually exploiting 1,000 women in Alicante clubs

A criminal organisation reportedly involved in the trafficking of women for the purpose of sexual exploitation in strip clubs in the province of Alicante has been dismantled by the National Police. 48 women have been released and 48 people have been arrested as a result of the operation (two in Murcia and 46 in Alicante, six of whom have been placed in provisional detention).

Over 1,000 women are thought to have been exploited by the network in the past 12 months. False job offers deceived the victims, who were primarily from South America, into travelling to Spain.

Three strip clubs have been shut down by the National Police after conducting eight house searches in Alicante. They have also blocked 938,000 euros in bank accounts, immobilised 17 properties valued at 1,313,087 euros, confiscated eight forbidden weapons, and confiscated over 150,000 euros in cash, among other items.

A complaint on the National Police’s phone line 900 105 090, which, together with the email Trata@policia.es, encourages citizen cooperation and the private and anonymous reporting of human trafficking-related crimes, sparked the inquiry.

The victims were tricked by phoney work offers in Spain’s cleaning and beauty services industries in their home countries, primarily Colombia and Venezuela. The victims were brought to the clubs to be sexually exploited, but the offer did not materialise when they arrived.

Investigators were able to verify the existence of this transnational criminal organisation in Spain, which was situated in the province of Alicante and was operated by two Colombian women and a Spanish national, thanks to the many investigations that were started at that time. The latter spent his weekends with his family in the Murcia region and his weekdays managing his business in Alicante.

The organization’s structure included two tiers in addition to the three leaders: the taxi drivers who were responsible for driving the women on their outings to give home services and the people in charge of the strip clubs.

Clubs in Orihuela, Elche, and Alicante

The criminal group operated three strip clubs in Alicante, Elche, and Orihuela, which they attempted to pass off as hostels or guest residences in order to conceal their operations. Through the sexual exploitation of numerous foreign women in precarious situations, the network had established a commercial structure intended to benefit itself.

The victims, who were residents of the strip clubs themselves, were compelled to work around the clock, were constantly watched by members of the criminal organisation using sophisticated image and sound video surveillance systems, and had limited freedom of movement because they were only allowed to leave the house for two hours at a time.

They received no respite at all during the first week of labour, and starting in the second week, they were only allowed to have one day off under the supervision of the defunct organisation. According to investigations, the network took at least 40% of each service that the women provided; these funds were then handed directly to the organization’s leaders.

In order to draw in more customers, keep from getting arrested, and mimic a legitimate hospitality company operation, the victims were transferred between the several clubs. The sale of drugs to customers in the various strip clubs might also be detected.