Police in Mexico have arrested a former beauty queen for modern slavery and human trafficking.

Nicknamed ‘Miss Torture’, former Miss Puebla Maria Hilda Bustillos Lucas was seized in the Puebla state capital on the afternoon of 18th March.

Her arrest followed multiple accusations that she lured indigenous women living in remote areas with promises of honest work and decent pay.

Then, she would allegedly force them into domestic servitude.

Bustillos would search for her victims on social networks and would post job ads online promising a weekly paycheque of MXN 1,800 (GBP 79), local media reported.

Once contracted, her victims were allegedly locked up and forced under threat to work at the home of the former pageant winner or at the homes of her friends.

Detectives first began investigating the case last year, after a victim reportedly managed to escape.

The victim reportedly told investigators she was cut off from the outside world, left without food, and even beaten with a hammer.

It is believed Bustillos trafficked at least 15 women over the past 30 years.

An unnamed individual who reportedly rescued an alleged victim named Teresa said at least 15 women were falsely imprisoned and suffered abuse before being freed by locals.

The individual also said further victims had been spotted fleeing the property where they were being held.

Locals have also accused Miss Puebla 1991 of domestic abuse.

One individual, who also preferred to remain anonymous, told local media: “We could hear the screams. She wasn’t going to hit them in front of everyone or in the street, but the screams could be heard.

“Even plumbers, blacksmiths, and workers from gas companies were recurrent witnesses of the abuse that she not only inflicted on her domestic staff but also on her son, daughter, and even her husband.”

This is the second time Bustillos has been arrested on similar accusations.

She was previously detained on 9th March, but a judge ruled the arrest unlawful and she was released the next day.