Costa de Almería
88 arrests in Almería as a network in enforced prostitution is broken up in Spain
By m.p
Jun 27, 2007 - 10:18 PM

National Police have broken up the Spanish branch of a network which trafficked in women from Russia and forced them to work as prostitutes in a number of European countries.

Led from Russia, the network is believed to have recruited some 6,000 women through model and travel agencies, and operated, in Spain, in Almería, Granada and Lleida.

The operation involved 40 officers, with 88 arrests made in El Ejido and Roquetas de Mar. Other clubs were searched in Almuñécar (Granada province), and in Lleida (Cataluña).

Twenty one of those taken into custody are members of the network, while the remaining 67 are women who were in the country illegally. A further 39 people connected with the network were identified in Russia.

It’s estimated that the network sent 1 million € back to Russia for laundering during the three years it operated in Spain.

Seven network members were remanded to prison on Wednesday after declaring to the judge: they include the leader in Spain, a Russian national named as Artur F., who is otherwise known as ‘Zakirov; his sister, Ianna F. and her Spanish husband. José Manuel J.A., from Vizcaya; and two other Spaniards: José Fernando L.G. and Gabriel E.F., both from Almería.