While carrying out a major police operation against human trafficking, Spanish authorities made a shocking discovery. In several apartments, which had been converted into “massage salons”, they freed 162 women from forced prostitution. The women lived in catastrophic conditions, with the woman servicing their customers in bunkbeds where they subsequently had to sleep.
162 victims, 37 suspects
The Spanish Policia Nacional arrested 37 suspects in the course of the investigations. Nine of these were ordered to be taken into custody. The suspects are accused of being a part of an organised band which robbed women of their freedom and forced them into prostitution.
“Massage salons” in tourist regions
According to official figures, most of the victims originally come from countries in South America. The criminal group was primarily active in popular holiday destinations such as Valencia, Alicante, Málaga and Murcia. There, they converted apartments and offices into so-called “massage salons”. The women not only had to receive their clients there, but also had to live there – subject to degrading conditions and under constant supervision. They then had to hand over the majority of their income.
Locked in and exploited
The women impacted were either recruited directly in their countries of origin, or were already living in Spain. They lived in existential need, and often had neither a place to stay nor a work permit available to them. In the brothels, they slept tightly squeezed into bunkbeds or even in the same bed as they had previously serviced their clients. The rooms were almost always locked, with practically no possibility of escape.
Assets seized
In the course of 39 searches, the police secured around 141,000 euros in cash and three vehicles. As well as this, more than 60 bank accounts and numerous other assets were frozen. The investigations are ongoing; another focus is on the suspicion of money-laundering.
Another case in Spain
It was only in early 2025 that a Chinese people-trafficking gang in Spain was smashed: 30 suspects were arrested, and 33 young Asian women – including an under-age girl – were freed from forced prostitution. The victims were lured to Spain with false promises, before actually being monitored around the clock and sexually exploited. In some cases, they were even sold onward or forced to have abortions. In raids in Spain and Croatia, the authorities found cash, guns, drugs and forged documents.
Successes against human trafficking in Greece
In December last year, authorities in Greece experienced a similar success in the fight against people-trafficking. On one raid, 29 women were saved from several apartments and two night clubs. Using forged job offers, the perpetrators had lured their victims to Greece from Eastern Europe, Africa and South-East Asia, where they were forced into prostitution. The women lived under enormous physical pressure, without valid papers or contact with the outside world. They were led to believe they would have to work off their “travel and accommodation costs” by means of forced labour. As well as nine arrests, large amounts of cash, weapons and forged documents were found. NGOs such as A21 provided medical and psychological care.
International collaboration
The fate of these women shows once again that people-trafficking and forced labour continues to happen to this day, at the very heart of Europe. The successful investigations and raids in Greece and Spain are important wins in the relentless fight against these crimes. Cross-border networking of the investigating authorities and support from NGOs are essential if such internationally active networks are to be smashed.
“Follow the money”
International operations against people-trafficking work primarily by means of targeted information exchange, the use of joint investigative groups, and coordinated control measures. Investigating authorities use secure communications systems, coordinating operations over central platforms and comparing data (offender profiles, travel routes and cash flows, for example) in real time. Mobile operations teams and specialised task forces work on these in parallel in several countries. In this way, international people-trafficking networks can be effectively smashed.
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