MADRID: According to Customs police, 18 individuals have been arrested by the Customs following 11 house searches in Barcelona, Badalona and Santa Coloma de Gramanet, all in Catalunya, as part of an ongoing investigation into a criminal organization involved in people trafficking and with contacts in Spain, China and the UK.
First estimates are that the group made around 10.8 million euros last year over the last twelve months alone from people trafficking operations, charging their victims approximately 30,000 euros each for their passage into Europe.
All 18 of the arrested are Koreans or Chinese, and they are charged with either exploiting the immigrants sexually or forwarding them on to other countries such as the UK and Canada using fake identity documentation. They are also accused of drug-related offences.
Around 20 victims of the group have been identified in Spain, all of them lacking documentation, and since the investigation began another 40 or so have been detained in the UK, Italy, France, Ireland and Switzerland. These detentions have been vital in compiling evidence against the group, and immigration officers from the UK travelled to Barcelona to assist the Guardia Civil.
Among the details which have emerged is that the victims travelled to Spain using their own genuine ID documents, but on arrival these were taken from them and they were provided with others in order to travel on to other countries. In the meantime they were kept in “safe flats” which they were not allowed to leave, and some were exploited sexually in other “brothel flats” until they had paid off their “debt”. They were also obliged to take part in drug-vending activities.
Among the items confiscated by the Guardia Civil officers who made the 18 arrests are various narcotics prepared for distribution, bank documents, numerous passports, tablets, computers, mobile phones and cash (in euros, dollars and yuans).
