The National Police released in Seville 13 victims of labor exploitation who were forced to care for elderly people 24 hours a day as interns and without relief. Likewise, he arrested eight officials of the organization which recruited them and which is dedicated to “trafficking in human beings”.
As the body explains in a note, the released victims are mainly women of Colombian nationalitywho were recruited in their country of origin “taking advantage of their situation of extreme necessity and offering care work to dependent people”.
The criminal organization that convinced them, also made up of Colombians, covered the travel costs to Spain, where the victims They came as tourists.
In doing so, they signed a “recognition of debt of a different amount for each, which they would then have to pay. » This is the weapon used by the organization which, upon their arrival in Seville, distributed them to different places in the province.
There they were housed and exploited, caring for the elderly 24 hours a day as boarders and without assistance to repay the debt. The organization threatened their families in Colombia if they did not periodically pay the debt they had incurred.some of them having to leave their homes and change countries.
Incitement to prostitution
Police began investigating the situation when they learned of several victims in Seville. He then discovers that the situation is not limited to the care of dependent elderly people.
In some cases, victims were pressured to pay their debts due to “undue delay in obtaining employment” and, for this reason, members of the organization They suggested prostitution in order to pay the debt quickly, emphasizes the police.
During the investigation, three entrances and registers in the city of Seville and an inspection of a restaurant in the town of Zahora (Cádiz). Eight high-end mobile phones, 4,000 euros in cash and extensive documentation relating to the investigation were seized.
The operation culminates with the release of 13 victims of economic exploitation in the city of Seville and in the arrest of eight peopleamong whom are the leaders of the organization investigated, seven in Seville and one in Cádiz, for the crimes of belonging to a criminal organization, human trafficking for the purposes of labor exploitation and against the rights of foreign citizens.
