National Police officers have arrested six people in Santa Pola and Elche for allegedly sexually exploiting women across two residential properties in Santa Pola, where victims were forced into prostitution.
The six suspects face charges including human trafficking for sexual exploitation, belonging to a criminal organisation, and offences against public health. Investigators found that they allegedly supplied illicit narcotics to both the victims and their clients, alongside selling sildenafil pills to male visitors.
The police operation commenced after one victim managed to flee one of the properties alongside her minor child. She subsequently contacted the UCRIF unit of the National Police. Granted protected witness status, she disclosed that victims were permitted almost no freedom to leave the premises. On one occasion, she was escorted to a medical appointment by a gang member to prevent her escape, and she was forced into prostitution even whilst suffering from a severe vaginal infection.
Two further victims, of Colombian and Venezuelan nationality, had previously escaped from the syndicate but refrained from reporting the abuse due to fear of retaliation against their families back home.
Among those detained is the alleged ringleader, a 44-year-old Colombian woman, and her partner, a 45-year-old Spanish man who served as co-leader. The remaining four individuals arrested are Colombian nationals aged 46, 35, and 24. Four of the arrests were executed in Santa Pola and two in Elche.
When officers searched the two properties, they discovered and liberated one victim, who was also granted protected witness status. Records retrieved from the addresses indicate that at least 18 women had been sexually exploited by the network, which advertised its illegal services online.
During the searches, officers seized more than 10,000 euro in cash, small quantities of narcotics including pink cocaine, 22 sildenafil pills, three mobile phones, and extensive gang documentation.
