Brazil: Federal Police and Spanish Police Conduct Joint Anti-Trafficking Operation

On July 9, 2013 Folha de S.Paulo Jornal reported that the Brazilian Federal Police, with the support of the Spanish police, have carried out an operation targeting a gang engaged in trafficking women for prostitution. The police operation, known as Operação Ninfas (Operation Nymphs) was performed simultaneously in Brazil (Goiás and the Federal District) and in Spain (Ourense and Pontevedra). Four suspects were also arrested during the operation.

The joint operation began after investigations by the police of the two countries, which allowed them to identify the criminal organization which recruited Brazilian women, mostly from Goiás, in order to exploit them as prostitutes in Spanish nightclubs. The women were recruited with false promises of work, but when they came to Spain they were sent to work in the clubs as a way of paying the debt incurred for travel. Read Article