Spanish authorities have arrested four people at the Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas airport, as they were trying to bring 13 irregular migrants from a flight departing from Bogota.
Through a statement issued last week, the country’s Ministry of the Interior said that the arrested persons were key members of a dismantled organisation, which specialised in the trafficking of minors and adults, mainly of Colombian origin.
It revealed that they asked migrants to pay between €1,500 and €2000 per person, disguising these payment transactions for tourist trips to Spain. However, the real purpose of these trips was to enable migrants to stay in the country for a longer period of time than is allowed by law.
The agents have seized approximately €23,000 in cash, various computer effects and documentation relevant to the investigation and estimate that the criminal organisation could have facilitated the entry of around 1,000 migrants.
In addition, authorities have filed a request to freeze a bank account containing €145,000 and several financial and real estate assets in Colombia as part of their ongoing investigation. According to the Ministry, the police operation is continuing, while in the following days there are possibilities for other arrests.
Police investigations have revealed that the dismantled network began its operations in December 2021. The main individual responsible, one of the four individuals in custody, promoted the organisation’s services through a social network. As the police explain, they were focused in securing the entry of minors into the country even if their parents were in an irregular immigration status.
In August of this year, the Spanish National Police also successfully busted a criminal network focused on providing forged documents to migrants in the country.
In this regard, the Ministry emphasised that the main objective of this group was to facilitate employment opportunities for migrants in the agricultural sector. They charged exorbitant fees, reaching up to 400 euros, for forged documents or identity theft, especially if the individual resembled the stolen identity.
Moreover, the police have also arrested 22 other people in the city of Tortosa, among them leaders of the organisation. These individuals now face a variety of charges, including involvement in a criminal group, forging false documents, violating the rights of foreign nationals and violating workers’ rights.
