The Civil Guard, within the framework of Operation Guacatal, has dismantled an international criminal organization dedicated to trafficking in human beings for the purpose of sexual exploitation, freeing 11 victims in a house in Lanzarote where they were forced to engage in prostitution. An operation carried out by the UCO that La Voz exclusively advanced on May 28.
In total, seven people have been arrested for the alleged crimes of trafficking in human beings for the purpose of sexual exploitation, membership of a criminal organization and money laundering.
The criminal organization recruited most of its victims in Colombia, through deception, taking advantage of their vulnerable situation and offering them false hopes for the future in Spain. This criminal group covered all the expenses and procedures necessary for the victims, recruited both abroad and some also in Spain, to be safely transferred to the address of sexual exploitation on the island.
Prior to initiating these transfers, the victims were instructed on the arguments to be used in the event of possible police checks, using letters of invitation from different countries, provided by the organization itself.
Coerced into having sex 24 hours a day
Once at their destination, and under the direct orders of the traffickers, their passports were taken away, forcing them to sign different contracts for the rental of shared rooms, in order to avoid any police inspection at the exploitation residence.
In the same way, the women were coerced under the pretext of having contracted a debt with the organization for having brought them to Spain, which had to be paid with high interest through the provision of sexual services.
The victims did not have freedom of movement and were forced to be available to have sexual relations 24 hours a day, even if they were in poor health. If they did not comply with the conditions imposed by the criminal organization, they were sanctioned with a large sum of money, thus increasing the debt acquired with their traffickers.
Likewise, they were constantly controlled by an extensive video surveillance system and were forced to consume any type of narcotic substance if the client so requested, maintaining absolute control over them. They were also subjected to different photographic reports, in order to be advertised on different web pages that offer sexual services.
Police Investigation
After a year of investigation, the Central Operative Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard was able to corroborate the existence of this criminal organization based on a solid hierarchy with a clear distribution of perfectly defined roles in relation to the recruitment, transfer and final exploitation of the victims, with geographical disposition in cities such as Cali (Colombia), Getafe (Madrid), Elche (Alicante) and Arrecife (Las Palmas), as the last place of exploitation.
For all these reasons, several European investigation orders have been issued, in order to expand more information mainly related to the phases of recruitment and transfer of victims from foreign countries.
During the entries and searches carried out in the towns of Getafe, Elche and Arrecife, it is worth highlighting the intervention of a short weapon, narcotic substances, various documentation that incriminates the criminal organization with the sexual exploitation of the victims and two high-end vehicles used for the transfers of the same.
The Civil Guard against Trafficking in Human Beings
This July 30, the World Day against Trafficking in Persons is commemorated. The UN General Assembly established this date in 2013 with the purpose of raising awareness among the population about this serious problem that has facilitated the expansion of this crime globally.
On June 28, the Civil Guard together with the Diaconía España association presented the campaign 'And you, who would you call?' whose objective is to promote awareness and prevention of the phenomenon of trafficking in human beings, which aims to involve citizens in the detection of private apartments where women and girls are sexually exploited clandestinely. The campaign aims to raise awareness among as many people as possible of the existence of this criminal activity, and urges them to communicate it to the authorities. It must be remembered that more than 650 people were victims of sexual exploitation in Spain in 2023, and 98% of these victims are women.
This operation is the result of the actions that the Civil Guard carries out against trafficking in human beings for the purpose of sexual exploitation, offering citizens the email account [email protected], to communicate any type of information about this type of serious crime, ensuring anonymous and confidential reporting.
The investigation has been directed by the Investigating Court number 2 of Arrecife (Las Palmas), and carried out by the Team against Organized Crime based in the Canary Islands and the Human Trafficking Section, both belonging to the Central Operative Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard.
