New Delhi: In a shocking revelation in Colombia’s tourism hotspot Cartagena, women were being forced into prostitution through a nexus of underground tunnels leading to nightclub basements.

Recently, almost 50 such women who were reportedly forced to work as nightclub “sex-slaves” were rescued.

In a press conference the Attorney general Mario Gomez informed that the women were held captive in ‘precarious conditions’ on the pretext of offering work, AFP reported.

The victims included 16 from Colombia and 23 from Venezuela.

Their passports and identity cards were taken away by a network of pimps engaged in the business of sexually exploiting women.

As per reports, Gomez said that the neighboring areas of the Caribbean coast including Cartagena were the hub of sexual tourism in Colombia

AFP reports that Colombia has been described as a "source and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to sex and labor trafficking” by the US State Department.

A series of raids linked to the Operation Vesta launched several weeks ago resulted in arrests of 18 people engaged as pimps last month.