It was in 2019 when a young, Eastern-European woman walked into the Policía Nacional offices in Motril and announced that she was a victim of sexual exploitation ring.

Three years later the police investigation concluedd with 22 arrests across Andalucia and the freeing of eight women forced to prostitute themselves.

The arrests kicked off with six detained in Motril and five women freed from sexual slavery. From there, they identified other members of the gang and raided four brothels, three night clubs and two private dwellings in the province of Almería and in Marbella.

Amongst the 22 further arrests were 17 in Almería and five in Marbella, who were charged with everything from human trafficking to an offence against workers rights.

The raids also came up with 26,941 euros in cash, 19 cheques for a total of 53,00 euros, 35 doses of cocaine 176 Viagra pills and many documents that will be used by the prosecution.

Police investigation continues online, tracking down webpages offering false job offers for Eastern European women to work as hostesses in public-relations companies in Spain and other European countries.

(News: Motril, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)