The police announced on Tuesday that Spanish authorities freed 162 women forced to work as prostitutes by a suspected human trafficking gang.

The National Police said that thirty-seven people had been arrested, while nine of the suspects were remanded.

Most of the victims are said to come from South America.

The highly organized gang is said to have converted apartments and business premises in holiday regions such as Valencia, Alicante, Málaga, and Murcia into “massage parlours.”

The women were monitored round the clock and forced into prostitution.

The victims lived in appalling conditions, had hardly any freedom, and had to hand over most of their earnings.

The police said they were recruited both directly in their countries of origin and in Spain. Most of them were living in poverty and had neither residence nor work permits in Spain.

The police statement said that in the brothels, the women “slept crammed into bunk beds or directly in the same bed in which they received clients.”

Most of the rooms were kept locked.

During 39 searches across the country, 141,000 euros (around 165,000 dollars) in cash and three vehicles were seized.

Investigations are ongoing with the police saying money laundering allegations are also being investigated.

More than 60 bank accounts and numerous assets had been frozen.

 (dpa/NAN)