Nine of the 13 members of a prostitution network arrested in Almerķa province
last week were remanded to custody in the Acebuche provincial prison this
weekend. They are seven men and two women.
The police operation dubbed 'Zarpa,' took 60 people into custody early last
Thursday, as officers swooped on alternative nightclubs in the western part of
the province.
The other 47 detainees were all women from Russia who were in Spain illegally
and were forced to work as prostitutes, and, according to police, 'lived like
slaves.' A total 151 Russian women were identified as working in clubs in El
Ejido and Roquetas de Mar.
It's believed the network brought up to 2,000 women into Spain from Russia over
the past three years, and may have laundered some 650,000 ? in proceeds
received from prostitution.
