Conducted by Judge Daniel Barrientos, from the Court of Instruction number 4 of Torrevieja, a prostitution network wirth over 40 million euro, and active across the whole of Europe has been closed down by the National Police with assistance from Europol and Eurojust
The operation began in 2016 after the dismantling of a Nigerian prostitution network which resulted in 23 detainees. The organisation was formed mainly by Finnish citizens, several of them based in Torrevieja and Marbella, from which they earned vast sums through a series of prostitution websites.
El Grupo de Blanqueo of the Alicante Judicial Police was just one of the three Spanish police units that took part in the operation a macro-operation which, dating back to 2010, has also been involved in money laundering and the trafficking of human beings for the purpose of sexual exploitation in Nordic countries across Europe.
As a result the police authorities have arrested six people, five of whom have been imprisoned. One of the arrests was made in Torrevieja, two in Marbella and the other four in Finland, Romania and Malta.
In addition to the 6 arrests, 16 web sites used by the network have been closed down. Likewise, all of the organisation’s bank accounts have been frozen in Spain, Finland, Malta, Romania, Bulgaria, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Russia, Estonia, Sweden, Panama and the People’s Republic of China, together with an embargo on six companies.
In Finland property to the value of 422,000 euros has been seized, while in Hong Kong more than 1,500,000 euros has been blocked in bank accounts belonging to the criminal group.
The investigations carried out in Torrevieja uncovered a criminal network dedicated to the management, maintenance and publicity of women who worked as prostitutes, through a number of different international websites, but mainly in Finland and Sweden, countries where pimping is punishable, according to the Police.
The head of the organization was widely known by the Finnish police and had already been arrested for similar acts. The others were known in their immediate environment as “the old Internet pimps.”
The investigations confirm that some of the websites had been functioning since 2005, but it was not until 2010 when the detainees could be linked to the sexual content of accounts that have now been blocked by the National Police.
