Agents of the National Police have dismantled an organization dedicated to the recruitment of Nigerian women for their subsequent sexual exploitation in different areas of Madrid and the Canary Islands. During the operation, five members of the organization have been arrested and one of its victims has been released. The woman, who was recruited by the organization through her own mother, was convinced to come to Spain to work as a prostitute with the promise that in one year she would have earned enough money to pay off the debt she would incur with the organization, which amounted to 55,000 euros. Before traveling to Spain, she was subjected to a voodoo ritual as a commitment by which she was completely subjected to the will of the organization, under penalty of death if she failed to comply with what was agreed with it.
The investigation began last April, following the statement of a woman victim of said organization who, given the conditions of exploitation to which she was subjected, decided to go to the Police and take advantage of the protection measures provided for these cases.
Once all the extremes declared by the victim were verified, the investigations led the Police to an international organization formed entirely by members of Nigerian nationality based both in the countries of origin of the victims, mainly Nigeria, and in the countries of transit and destination, in this case Spain, with clearly defined functions for each of the members and a clearly hierarchical structure.
The victim had been captured through her own mother
The victims were usually captured in the poorest areas of the main cities of Nigeria, through trusted people of the organization. In this specific case, it was a Nigerian woman, residing in Spain, who contacted the victim's mother, offering her the possibility of taking her daughter to Europe to work for the organization as a prostitute.
According to the communicator, they would assume a debt of 55,000 euros that could be settled in one year with their work, being subsequently released from their commitment.
Voodoo or juju rituals as a commitment between traffickers and their victims
Once the conditions are accepted and prior to the start of the trip, members of the organization practiced voodoo rituals on the victims aimed at completely subduing their will, being from that moment completely subjected to them.
During the rituals, which are carried out as a commitment or pact, the traffickers commit to organizing the trip and financing the expenses derived from it, and the victims commit to obeying the traffickers, to paying the economic debt contracted with them and to not go to the police or report them, under penalty of death for them or their relatives if they fail to comply with what was agreed.
The degree of control achieved through these rituals is such that the madams in charge of controlling the women do not need to be in the same place as them, with just a phone call for the victims to obey blindly, working as prostitutes for long hours and usually on public roads, thus being exposed to all kinds of aggressions, inclement weather, lack of hygiene, diseases, etc.
Once in Madrid they request international protection
The victims arrived to the European continent by air, making a stopover in countries such as Benin or Senegal, where facilitators of the organization provided them with false documentation or authentic documents of people physically similar to them legally residing in some European country and tickets to continue the trip. They also instructed them so that they could get to Madrid without having problems with the Police at the different airports.
Once in Madrid they were picked up and transferred to a home, where they remained locked up for days and later they explained that they should go to the Asylum and Refuge Office and tell a false, but credible, story so that an application for International Protection would be admitted. Once said request was admitted, the victims had to start working as prostitutes to pay off their debt.
Afterwards, they accompanied them to the area where they had to work, many of them in the Casa de Campo in Madrid, where they explained the exact place where they should place themselves to attract clients with whom to have relationships. The mami or controller was in charge of telling them the rates they should charge for the different services, as well as collecting the money they earned daily, threatening them and even attacking them if they did not obtain anything any day.
The operation has been carried out by the Central Brigade against Trafficking in Human Beings of the General Immigration and Borders Police Station, the UCRIF of Madrid and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and the Local Brigade of Immigration and Borders of Lanzarote, with the collaboration of the Local Police Stations of Fuenlabrada and Arrecife (Lanzarote). During the same, five members of the organization have been arrested, two of them in Madrid and three in Arrecife, and a woman, victim of them, has been released and has been provided with the corresponding protection measures. In addition, the agents searched four homes, in Fuenlabrada, Móstoles and two in Arrecife, in which almost 10,000 euros in cash, eleven falsified Nigerian passports, nine telephone terminals and numerous computer supports that are being analyzed by police experts have been seized.
With trafficking there is no deal
This operation is part of the National Police Plan against Trafficking in Human Beings for Sexual Exploitation Purposes, launched in 2013, and which led to the creation of a new reference unit in this area: the Central Brigade against Trafficking in Human Beings, attached to the General Immigration and Borders Police Station of the National Police. With the implementation of this plan, the National Police activated the telephone line 900 10 50 90 and the email trata@policia.es to facilitate citizen collaboration and the anonymous and confidential reporting of this type of crime.
Within the II Phase of this plan, which began in January of this year, the National Police has launched the largest awareness campaign on social networks and media against trafficking in human beings for sexual exploitation purposes. With the claim "With trafficking, there is no deal. Report it", the General Directorate of the Police is promoting the inclusion of videos and posters in written press, radio and television that favor the awareness and social involvement of all citizens, and especially of potential clients of these services, against the crimes committed by the networks that traffic people for their prostitution.