This report from an Alicante County Court covers the conviction of two of the eleven individuals accused of belonging to a human trafficking network. The case alleged that the group used voodoo rituals to coerce women from Nigeria into prostitution in Benidorm and Bilbao, as outlined in a Chapter Three judgment. The prosecution sought a total of 95 years in prison for all eleven defendants, yet nine defendants were acquitted. The defense was led by attorney Juan Antonio Espinosa, from the law firm Francisco Galiana Botella, who represented three of the defendants.
The court did not take the involvement of the nine accredited persons as proven, but it did recognize the role of a married couple identified as responsible by two protected witnesses. The other five victims, who spoke about the exploitation at the time, did not attend the hearing. The judges rejected a challenge to the wiretap procedure, though the content could not be used as evidence during the indictment phase due to irregularities in the minutes and because not all parties were called to authorize the experts who conducted the surveillance. [Source: Alicante County Court records]
Two defendants, both Nigerian nationals, were found guilty of human trafficking for sexual exploitation in competition with prostitution. They were acquitted of membership in a criminal organization and of illegal immigration charges. [Judgment notes: Court proceedings, 2023]
Imprisonment and compensation
Each convicted defendant faces a total sentence of 12 years and ten months in prison, plus two fines for minor injuries and ill-treatment, totaling 540 euros. They are also ordered to pay 10,000 euros to each of the two protected witnesses as compensation. [Court verdict and restitution details]
The facts proven in the punishment date back to 2015. A convicted woman organized and financed the travel of Nigerian women to Spain for sexual exploitation. She arranged the trip from Libya to Italy, and victims incurred a debt of 30,000 euros for the journey. A voodoo ritual was performed before departure to guarantee the repayment of that debt. [Evidence summary: witness testimonies and investigative records]
Victims were threatened with harm to their families if they failed to repay, and they were coerced into prostitution, surrendering any earnings upon arrival in Spain. They were misled with promises of an improved quality of life in Europe. The money earned was controlled by the traffickers. [Witness testimony: protection program documents]
Two protected witnesses testified before the court, detailing the recruitment in Nigeria and the subsequent painful journey to reach Libya via Niger and Algeria. They described rape and forced travel with more than a hundred people, which led to a shipwreck and deaths before rescue by a trader near Italy. [Testimony excerpts: protective witness statements]
The husband of the convicted woman traveled to Italy and brought two protected witnesses to Spain, along with documents related to his wife. The victims were compelled to work in prostitution in Bilbao and Benidorm on busy days, seven days a week, both on public roads and in a club setting. If earnings fell short, they faced violence. [Judicial findings: exploitation framework]
One of the protected witnesses managed to escape, aided by a friend, while another was located by police on a Bilbao street. [Law enforcement report: witness escape]