One hundred clients in three days: this is how a network of trafficking of women operated in Barcelona and Girona
The police arrest 23 people from two coordinated groups who captured vulnerable victims, made them go into debt, and sexually exploited them
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BarcelonaThe police conducted a 72-hour surveillance outside an apartment where they suspected women were being sexually exploited. During these three days, 100 clients visited. It was a constant stream of men entering and leaving the apartment at a frenetic pace. As the investigation progressed, they discovered the reason: the criminal group behind it had implemented a low cost. Normally, sexual services are for half an hour or an hour, but in this apartment, there was a rate of 20 euros for every ten minutes. The police discovered that this method was repeated in several apartments and that two clans were collaborating behind it.
The investigation, by the Mossos d'Esquadra and the National Police, has culminated in the arrest of 23 people in the dismantling of two criminal groups, one Brazilian and one Spanish, specializing in human trafficking for sexual exploitation, and who acted in a coordinated manner. The arrested are fifteen women and eight men. The operation has allowed the liberation of six victims recruited in their countries of origin, mainly Latin Americans.
As explained by Mossos sub-inspector Lluís Moreno, head of the DIC's human trafficking specialists, it all began thanks to the "expertise" of a doctor from Sabadell, who detected signs of human trafficking in the care of a girl in October 2025. The case reached the Mossos and the girl ended up reporting the events. She explained how she had been recruited and brought to Spain, and how she had been hidden in a house where she was sexually exploited. They practically didn't let her leave.
The Mossos' investigations eventually merged with an investigation opened by the National Police. Marcos Gómez, inspector of the Central Unit for Illegal Immigration Networks and Document Forgery of the National Police, stated that in June 2025, the force received two testimonies from neighbors alerting that there might be a brothel apartment in Sabadell. The two investigations coincided, and they created a joint team.
The 'modus operandi'
The Brazilian network was responsible for recruiting girls in their countries of origin. The vast majority are vulnerable women who received false job offers or proposals to go to Spain to practice prostitution freely. The reality, however, was different: the network financed their trip to the State, and once here, they burdened them with disproportionate debts, which in some cases amounted to 10,000 euros. They were forced to practice prostitution in apartments managed by the organization and to be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
"Of what they billed, they could only keep a small part, because the rest was used to pay off the debt," noted the National Police inspector. Inside the brothels, there were women in charge of controlling them, known as "mamis." Normally, as explained by the Mossos sub-inspector, "they are former victims who have now taken on the role of exploiters."
For their part, the Spanish group was responsible for renting the apartments, in the name of straw men, and managing them. In fact, this Spanish group had already been investigated for similar crimes, the last time in 2023. It was a family clan with more than a decade of experience in the world of sexual exploitation, which controlled a network of nine brothels in the provinces of Barcelona and Girona.
The Brazilian network also had a police record, and the police began to detect it through some movements a decade ago in the Vic area. Years of activity had allowed both clans to consolidate a portfolio of regular clients. Furthermore, they advertised on various platforms, some of which were not dedicated to prostitution.
On June 17, the police carried out sixteen raids and searches, eleven in brothels in the Barcelona and Girona regions, and seized 200,000 euros, drugs, and three high-end vehicles. In total, during the searches, 53 women in situations of sexual exploitation were identified.
The six liberated victims can now choose to return to their country of origin or stay in Spain by availing themselves of the protection and regularization mechanisms provided for victims of human trafficking.