The operation codenamed Zapra, which was run in the provinces of Almeria, Granada, Lerida and Gerona, led to around 400 Russian women being detained as illegal migrants in a year.
Over 70 police officers were involved in the final phase of the operation when 24 people were detained in March-April 2008 on suspicion of exploiting foreign females.
The police said in a statement it had been established that the prostitute ring was made up mainly of Russian-Spanish couples, where the Spanish men were largely involved in running the brothels and clubs, while the women, predominately of Russian descent, were responsible for recruiting the prostitutes.
Police said over 2 million euros had been transferred to Russia since 2006. The payments were transferred in sums no higher than 3,000 euros in a complicated system to avoid detection for money laundering activities.
