The Foreigners & Borders Service has completed an operation to dismantle an organisation run by a foreign citizen who controlled 20 brothels in various parts of the country including Quarteira and Faro.Court orders were obtained to raid premises in Caldas da Rainha, Cadaval, Santarém, Leiria, Ourém, Nazaré, Évora, Quarteira and Faro.
The investigation is into the crimes of trafficking in human beings for sexual exploitation, aiding illegal immigration, pimping and money laundering.
Three arrests were made, seven house searches were carried out and vehicles were seized.
Two Portuguese and one foreigner were arrested, all between the ages of 30 and 60, and will be up before the Central Court of Criminal Investigation of Lisbon to see of they can obtain bail.
The investigation started after a phone call that identified a criminal organisation that was trafficking women and "forcing them to practice prostitution and have sex without a condom."
The mystery caller said that these women were kept in captivity, "starved" and were "beaten and raped."
According to the SEF, the searches led to the seizure of evidence, including a large amount of gold and “hundreds of thousands of euros in cheques, two recently acquired vehicles, various bank statements, diaries, computer equipment, various documents and other material relating suspects to criminal activity."
In the operation, 36 people were identified, 30 of whom were foreigners.
