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🇪🇨 Ecuador /Crime & Justice

Police dismantle alleged human trafficking ring in Guayaquil

From El Comercio · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Outcome reported
  • Police in Guayaquil dismantled a suspected human trafficking ring, rescuing two minors held captive.
  • The operation, following a three-month investigation, led to the arrest of five individuals, including the alleged ringleader.
  • The network targeted young women and adolescents through social media, promising fake jobs before exploiting them sexually.

Authorities in Guayaquil have dismantled a suspected human trafficking network and rescued two minors who were being held captive. The operation, conducted by the National Police's Unit for Investigation against Human Trafficking and Illicit Migrant Smuggling, concluded a three-month investigation.

During the operation, which focused on the Samanes, Sauces 8, and Orquídeas sectors, five suspects were arrested: three men and two women. Among those detained is Julio Cesar R., known as 'Alias JC,' who is believed to lead the criminal structure and has ties to an organized crime group.

We are gathering more information to identify which organized crime group (GDO) it might belong to, whether it is national or international.

— Colonel Walter Villarroel TrujilloCommander of Zone 8, discussing the potential affiliations of the dismantled human trafficking network.

'Alias JC' has a significant criminal record, including charges related to the sexual exploitation of minors, offering sexual services with minors via electronic means, illicit substance trafficking, and intimidation. Colonel Walter Villarroel Trujillo, commander of Zone 8, stated that further information is being gathered to determine if the group belongs to a national or international organized crime syndicate.

They were kept captive, moved to certain places where, through the offer of some payment, they were forced to have sexual relations.

— Colonel Walter Villarroel TrujilloExplaining the methods of exploitation used by the trafficking network.

Colonel Villarroel explained that the network operated by contacting victims through social media, profiling them as they left educational institutions in Guayaquil. The organization specifically targeted women, particularly adolescents, by offering false job opportunities, accommodation, and financial compensation, with the ultimate goal of sexual exploitation.

The victims were held captive and moved to various locations where they were forced into sexual relations with clients, according to Villarroel. "They were kept captive, moved to certain places where, through the offer of some payment, they were forced to have sexual relations," the colonel detailed. Evidence collected includes vehicles and cash, which will be analyzed as investigations continue. Colonel Villarroel emphasized that prosecutors have sufficient evidence for prosecution, initiating a fiscal instruction phase.

We are complying with this preliminary investigation… we will continue to link other individuals… we are beginning a fiscal instruction phase. The justice operators have the corresponding evidence to judge them.

— Colonel Walter Villarroel TrujilloDescribing the ongoing legal process and the evidence gathered against the suspects.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by El Comercio in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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