TIJUANA Authorities captured a woman in Mexicali that allegedly directed a prostitution ring since 2005 in the state.
Baja California police announced Monday that its agents had detained María Guadalupe Román Valenzuela, nicknamed "La Niurka" and "La Tía," who had a warrant for her arrest since 2007 for prostitution.
Román was arrested Sunday afternoon in Mexicali's La Bodega neighborhood during a police operation. The woman, who had been the subject of an investigation for several weeks, did not resist.
According to the state's Public Safety Department, Román (age not given) lured female minors and then exploited them sexually.
Her list of clients came from diverse social classes. Authorities believe that she was in charge of delivering the girls to hotels, where they would meet clients, and another person collected payments.
"She had an entire well-structured operation. She analyzed her clients and the way to offer them the minors," the state police report said. "She had agreements with employees of hotels in various parts of the city."
According to the police agency, the woman had up to 13 girls ages 13 to 18 at her disposal. An unknown number of people worked with her in the prostitution ring.
The agency told a familiar story about how the girls became involved in prostitution. Román would look for teens with troubled family lives and used lies to lure them to join her, the agency said. She would offer them large sums of money and material things.
Authorities said that the clients of the prostitution ring ranged in age from 30 to 60 and that they gave the girls money and gifts, such as cellular phones and jewelry.
Román was turned over to the state Attorney General's office for prosecution.
Omar.millan@sandiegored.com
