Those arrested last week included an attorney and a mother-and-daughter team
that recruited women from Colombia, Paraguay and Brazil, federal police
spokesman Francisco Morais said.
The ring promised women well-paid jobs in Spain, where their passports were
taken and they were forced to prostitute themselves, Morais said.
He said the group is headed by a Spaniard "who should be arrested shortly by
Spanish police."
Police have identified some 50 women, 18 of them Brazilian, who fell prey to
the gang, he added.
The suspects are being held on charges of criminal association, international
human trafficking, prostitution and pimping. They face up to eight years in
prison.
Morais said the Madrid-based organization made about $520,000 a month in
profits.
The Associated Press
