Police on Wednesday arrested nearly 800 people as part of a nationwide operation against an international network that smuggled women into Italy and forced them to work as sex slaves.
In a series of separate raids across Italy, police arrested 780 people and filed reports against 1,311 others, nearly all of them non-Italians.
Investigators say they were part of a vast network of criminals who forced women to work as prostitutes, after buying them abroad for as little as 200 euros or luring them to Italy with promises of work.
The women, who earned their captors around 5,000 euros a month, were kept locked up in appalling conditions, and were routinely beaten and raped, they say.
"One 16-year-old girl was lured to Italy with the promise of work and then forced to have sex without protection," explained Chiara Giacomantonio, director of the minors department at the police's crack anti-crime unit, SCO.
"She eventually became pregnant, was refused an abortion, and was forced to continue working until the sixth month".
The arrests, which involved 32 police departments across the country, followed four months of investigations.
"The inquiries included lengthy stakeouts, surveillance, wire and phone tapping, and collaboration with foreign police forces," said SCO chief Gilberto Caldarozzi.
Although many of those arrested were working together, the network was not being run by a single organization, he added.
Instead, the trafficking was the work of a variety of small groups that developed individually and gradually formed ties with each other.
Investigations are still under way to see whether there are any links to Italian organized crime groups.
"There is no evidence of this so far but it is clear that Italian organizations were aware of the situation and tolerated it," said Calderozzi.
The country's chief anti-mafia prosecutor, Piero Grasso, said he expected the police operation would give rise to "further leads within Italy that will help fight people trafficking".
Those arrested face a variety of charges, including exploiting prostitution and aiding and abetting illegal immigration.
Police also sealed off 15 flats and houses being used as brothels, four nightclubs and three laboratories in connection with the investigation.
It was not clear how many women had fallen victim to the network but at least 45 women who assisted with the probe have been granted Italian residency permits to protect them from potential danger if returned to their own country.
INTERIOR MINISTRY'S EFFORTS TO FIGHT HUMAN TRAFFICKING.
Interior Minister Giulian Amato welcomed the results of the police operation, which he said was "of the utmost importance".
"The trafficking of women, particularly minors, for prostitution is one of the most despicable crimes taking place in Italy today," said the minister.
He recalled that the ministry had opened an observatory on prostitution and connected criminal activity last week, as part of government efforts to fight the problem.
Former justice undersecretary, Jole Santelli, now immigration spokesperson for Silvio Berlusconi's opposition Forza Italia party, praised the police for their work.
"They have conducted this vast anti-crime operation brilliantly," she said. "This was a well coordinated operation that has dealt a powerful blow to transnational organized crime".
The Italian government recently introduced a string of measures aimed at cracking down on traffickers bringing people into Italy.
Jail terms have been raised from five to 15 years and fast-track trials for traffickers have been abolished, giving police more time to collect evidence and meaning a greater chance of securing a conviction.
Traffickers who exploit their victims for long-term gain, such as tricking them into prostitution or forcing them to work as slave-labourers, face much tougher penalties.
According to the Catholic charity Caritas, human traffickers have smuggled more than half a million women into Italy to work as sex slaves over the last four years.
Of Italy's estimated 70,000 prostitutes, more than 40,000 are thought to be immigrants.
National Anti-Mafia Department (DIA) statistics suggest that 16.6% of women working as sex slaves in Italy are from Ukraine, 15% from Romania, 12% from Moldova and 7% from Albania.
According to the DIA, nearly two-thirds of these are kidnapped, while over a third are purchased in their homeland by Italian crime gangs.
Only a tiny minority come voluntarily, and they are nearly always trying to escape situations of war or desperate poverty.
Investigators have warned that following crackdowns on arms and narcotics smuggling, organized crime groups are increasingly setting their sights on the sex trade, which is equally lucrative but less risky.
Italian police have launched a major drive to help women off the streets in recent years, with special phone lines and a particular focus on allaying fears of prosecution or deportation.
