Spain Dismantles Organization That Transported Minors Arriving by Boat From Canary Islands to EU Countries
Through a statement issued on September 14, the Spanish Ministry of the Interior stated that the organization managed the travel process and provided false documentation for an amount that cost close to €1000, AtoZSerwisPlus.comreports.
During this operation, the police arrested seven people in the province of Alicante and two in the region of Murcia, where two of them were arrested and are now in custody.
“In addition, the entry and registration of four properties in these provinces have been carried out in which €1,000 in cash, three mobile phones, various electronic devices, and various documentation have been seized,” the statement reads.
The police began the investigation in January of this year, which revealed the existence of this perfectly structured criminal organization that profited from the transfer of minor immigrants from the Canary Islands to the peninsula and which had a clear division of recruitment duties, obtaining false passports and travel management.
“The profile of the person trafficked by the organization was that of a minor male migrant of North African origin, who at the time of contracting their services was provided with the documentation of third parties to be able to travel, as well as the acquisition of flights and the accompaniment at airports, all for amounts close to €1,000,” the statement also noted.
According to the Ministry, in this operation, the national police cooperated with 150 participating agents.
In addition, the agents also managed to seize 100 boxes of clothing worth €270,000 and 26 bottles of oil without labels, which may come from other crimes against property committed by the organization.
In August, through a joint operation by the Spanish Civil Guard and the National Police, another criminal organization that facilitates irregular migration to Spain was dismantled.
As the Ministry explains, the organization was based in Gran Canaria and provided migrants with false documentation to enable them to move from the island to mainland Spain and other EU countries.
During the operation, police arrested six people in Gran Canaria and one in Ciudad Real, most of them of North African origin. In addition, the same were accused of suspected crimes of being part of a criminal organization and falsifying documents in order to facilitate irregular migration.
