A Scottish couple are among 20 people who have been arrested by police in Spain for allegedly being involved in a criminal sex ring.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) and Regional Organised Crime Unit (ROCU) were involved in a joint probe to nail the gang who allegedly made thousands a week from exploitation and trafficking.
The gang reportedly included Scottish-born Natalie and Neil Lock, reports the Record. The group operated between Spain and the UK and is said to have sought out victims in vulnerable situations.
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They reportedly coerced one of them, who was pregnant, to have an abortion so they could continue sexually exploiting her. Victims were supposedly recruited from countries across Europe to offer sexual services in the UK.
It is claimed that the leader of the sex ring lived in Spain, where it is understood they controlled the practice of prostitution and payments for remote sexual services.
A member of the network managed the publication of advertisements from Alicante through a contact website that openly advertised the prostitution of women.
The organisation allegedly regularly transferred the profits of its criminal activity to recipients outside the United Kingdom, in Spain.
Those involved reportedly took advantage of the victims, specifically women in a vulnerable situation with dependence on psychoactive substances, and forced them to perform sexual services throughout the day and, on numerous occasions, without the use of a condom.
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The probe started after detecting a network that offered sexual services as an escort agency in the United Kingdom and whose leaders were in Spain, detecting that those allegedly involved acquired real estate properties in our country with the benefits they obtained from their criminal activity.
A spokesperson for the Spanish force said: "Agents of the National Police, in a joint operation with British agents from the National Crime Agency (NCA) and the Regional Organised Crime Unit (ROCU), have arrested 20 people who were part of a criminal organisation that sexually exploited vulnerable women.
"The network obtained profits amounting to thousands of pounds a week from exploitation in the United Kingdom, which they illegally transferred to recipients in Spain."
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They added: "The investigation has culminated in the arrest of 20 people, two in the city of Madrid and 18 in the United Kingdom, as allegedly responsible for the crimes of human trafficking, related to prostitution, money laundering and membership in a criminal organisation.
"Four searches have been carried out, two in Madrid and two in Alicante, in which more than 4,000 euros in cash, ten mobile phones, six computers, tablets, bank cards, jewellery and documentation related to the investigation have been seized."
