National Police agents, in a joint operation with Customs Surveillance of the Tax Agency, have dismantled a criminal organization allegedly dedicated to human trafficking for sexual exploitation and have rescued 27 women, including minors, who were being prostituted in four brothels in the south of the island of Tenerife.
There are **14 people detained**, including the two leaders of the criminal network.
Report to the email [email protected]
The police investigation began in July 2024 after the National Police's Human Trafficking Victim Assistance Service received an email. This communication alerted them to the presence in Santa Cruz de Tenerife of a couple who allegedly ran four nightclubs and had various women under their control. According to the alert, both were responsible for a criminal organization dedicated to human trafficking for sexual exploitation.
The investigations carried out by the researchers confirmed that the ringleaders of the network made periodic trips to various South American countries, where they recruited young women in situations of extreme vulnerability from impoverished backgrounds. The victims were recruited through deception, false promises of employment, and expectations of a better life, with the sole objective of sexually exploiting them upon their arrival in Spain.
Once captured, the victims would travel to our country, **incurring a debt with the organization that could reach 3,000 euros, which they had to pay off** through sexual services. They were housed in various properties on the island of Tenerife, which they shared with other women in the same situation, and for which they also had to pay, forcing them to live in precarious conditions and subjected to strict control measures. Upon arrival, they remained on the island for three months to avoid being detected as illegal by police services
Drug use and customer scams
The women, who had initially agreed to come work in Spain as striptease dancers, found upon joining the clubs that the reality was very different. In them, they were forced to engage in prostitution for long hours and compelled to consume narcotic substances, and on occasion were even drugged by members of the organization without their knowledge in order to achieve their disinhibition.
Likewise, the members of the organization took advantage of customers who were intoxicated or by supplying them with narcotic substances that weakened their will, in order to carry out various scams using credit cards, making purchases at establishments and withdrawing money from ATMs, with investigators being able to corroborate **frauds exceeding 70,000 euros**.
Minors
During the investigation, the agents were able to confirm the sexual exploitation of minors within the establishments controlled by the network, locating inside one of the clubs a 16-year-old girl carrying a falsified document.
In the final phase of the operation, entry and search were carried out at seven residences, three brothels, and an administrative consultancy on the island of Tenerife, where a large amount of incriminating documentation and various high-value assets were seized, including 90,000 euros in cash, a high-end vehicle, several luxury watches, various pieces of jewelry, and numerous mobile phones.
With the profits obtained, the investigated individuals would have managed to accumulate a personal fortune that includes various real estate properties and large sums of money.
With trafficking, there's no deal
The National Police has the telephone line 900105090 and the email [email protected] to facilitate citizen collaboration and the anonymous and confidential reporting of these types of crimes, with the call not appearing on the phone bill
