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MADRID (AP) \u2014 Twenty-six people were arrested and 32 women were freed in Spain in an operation to dismantle a network that sexually exploited some 600 women \u2014 mostly Venezuelans and Colombians \u2014 over the past year, the National Police said Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The investigation began in June last year following a tip-off from a victim, and resulted in the arrest of nine people in Madrid, five in Malaga on the southern coast, and 12 in Toledo in central Spain, the police said in a statement. Among those arrested were the two ringleaders, it added.<\/p>\n
The network recruited women in vulnerable situations, offering them 5,000 euros ($5,400) a week with supposedly good working conditions, according to the authorities. The ones who accepted were tied in contracts with debts of between 3,000 and 4,000 euros (between $3,240 and $4,320). They also waived rights to their images, which appeared on adult online platforms.<\/p>\n
The victims had to be available around the clock, could not put on weight and were subject to strict rules, with fines of between 30 and 40 euros for non-compliance, police said. In addition, they had to offer drugs and medicines to their clients, police added.<\/p>\n
The police announcement in Spain was made on World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. According to the United Nations, more than 50 million people could be victims of trafficking worldwide.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n