Spain : A network exploiting Moroccans dismantled in Albacete

National police officers in the province of Albacete have dismantled an organization run by two families and with the support of the head of an agency specialized in immigration procedures. 

According to El Digital de Albacete, which quotes the police on Friday, this network used agricultural companies to exploit workers, mostly of Moroccan origin. A total of three searches were carried out and 11 people were arrested.

The investigation began in October 2020 with the location of several addresses in the province of Albacete which were used to register a large number of people, said the national police. The same sources indicate that during the development of the investigation, the agents were able to verify that the victims had been identified by the head of an agency specialized in immigration procedures. 

This official, who worked with two families settled in the locality, had used a home and a supermarket belonging to these families to fraudulently register at least 94 foreign citizens.

One of the families made three of its enterprises in the agricultural sector available to facilitate the conclusion of employment contracts for these citizens. These were exploited to work on the organization's farms where they were controlled by two supervisors also of Moroccan origin. «Some of these workers were housed in farms where they lived in inhumane conditions», said the national police.

The operation ended with the registration of two houses. One of the 11 people arrested has been taken into custody, while the group is charged with crimes of human trafficking, crimes against the rights of foreign citizens, crimes against workers' rights, membership of a criminal organization and falsification of documents, among others.