POLICE have caught one of Spain’s top ten ‘Most Wanted’ fugitives hiding out in a town on the Columbia-Ecuador border.
Viviana Andrea Vallejo Gutierrez, 36, was the only woman on the list and was also a key Europol target.
She was arrested in Machala, Ecuador on human trafficking, drug dealing, and money laundering charges.
Vallejo Gutierrez organised a prostitution ring where she trawled for Columbian women offering a new life in Spain for the sum of €1,500.
The victims were unaware of what they faced and on arrival in Spain, they were taken to an apartment in Elche.
Their debt instantly doubled to €3,000 and they became virtual prisoners in poor conditions as they were forced into prostitution.
They had to be available all day and night and what money they earned was used as a minimal credit against their new debt.
Vallejo Gutierrez also lived in Elche and moved over some of her family from her native Columbia.
She also ran a prostitution racket out of a property in Asturias.
Once she realised that the police net was tightening on her, she fled back to Columbia.
She hid in jungle areas close to the Ecuador border helped by members of her criminal gang and assorted collaborators.
She made her appearance on Spain’s ‘Most Wanted’ list in May, and international police cooperation identified her as switching her home to Ecuador.
Once she’s extradited to Spain, Vallejo Gutierrez faces up to 32 years in prison if convicted of all charges.
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