Monday, September 26, 2016
A
major operation carried out by the Spanish police in association with
the Office of Criminal Investigation in Germany and Europol has led to
rescue of 21 Nigerian prostitutes and the arrest of 24 suspects,
including members of 'Supreme Eiye Confraternity cult, in the exclusive
districts of Ibiza, Spain.
The
prostitutes, some
as young as 16 were lured to the Spanish mainland with fake promises of
jobs and then forced to work 14 hours a day. The were beaten with
brooms and sticks if they didn't bring in €1,000.
"The
network captured very young victims among the lower classes of the
major Nigerian cities, deceiving them with false job offers in Spain,"
"Once
in our country, they were forced into prostitution in marathon days,
being beaten if they did not earn the money demanded by the gang," said a
police spokesman.
Investigators
said Ibiza was chosen for the summer because of the high influx of
tourists, with the gang totalling controlling the streets of the
exclusive areas. They were kept in one apartment and only allowed out
occasionally to buy food or to keep an appointment with a client.
"If
they didn't earn 1,000 euros a day, they would be forced to kneel for
hours and beaten with sticks and brooms,' said the spokesman.
Police
found that 17 women were forced to share one apartment of just 30
square metres, with three to four girls sleeping in one single bed. The
vulnerable women were given employment offers 'too good to refuse' in
view of their poor circumstances but once captured, were unable to
escape.They were subjected to voodoo rituals and sworn to loyalty contracts under the threat of family members being killed.
The
women were smuggled into Europe on boats and planes and were only told
their job offer was false when they arrived in Spain.
They were then told they would have to pay up to 50,000 pounds to be freed and could do so through prostitution.
Those
arrested included two women said to be the ringleaders who had 'years
of experience' in recruiting vulnerable girls. Police said they took
elaborate steps to avoid detection, often moving the women from house to
house.
One
of the gang was arrested in Germany where he had tried to hide and five
others were found to be members of the 1960s cult called 'Supreme Eiye
Confraternity'.
The
money earned from prostitution was sent to Nigeria via Madrid where a
bar was used as the front. Seven properties were raided in Spain and
Germany and 20 bank accounts blocked.
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