Almost 50 women trafficked through underground tunnels to work as nightclub "sex slaves" were rescued from the tourism hotspot Cartagena, Colombian prosecutors said.
The victims -- 26 Colombians and 23 Venezuelans -- were allegedly forced into working as prostitutes in nightclub basements connected by a series of tunnels.
They were tricked with false promises of work before being held captive in "precarious conditions," Attorney General Mario Gomez said in a press conference.
The victims were relieved of their passports and identity cards by a network of pimps engaged in the "sexual exploitation of women."
Gomez said police were hot on the heels of the pimps' headquarters and said they would be tried for "trafficking people for sexual slavery."