freak 1,032 Report post Posted August 12, 2013 France, Spain bust people-smuggling ring August 10, 2013, 4:42 pm Spanish police display items such as fake passports and stamps seized during their raid in Barcelona [AP] A joint operation launched by French and Spanish police has broken an international ring that smuggled Chinese nationals into Europe and the US, authorities in Madrid said on Saturday. Investigators arrested 75 people traffickers in the operation – 51 in Spain and 24 in France, the Spanish Ministry of Interior said. Two of the suspected ringleaders were arrested in Barcelona, authorities said. While the majority of arrests were made in Barcelona, there were also detentions in Madrid, Girona, Alicante, Mahon (Menorca), Malaga, Palma de Mallorca and Reus, which is south of Barcelona The investigation, which was launched in 2011, revealed that a person was smuggled into European countries such as Spain, France, Greece, Italy, the UK and the US for a fee of up to $67,000. Some of the smuggled peoples were also sexually exploited, the police said. In addition to the arrests, police also confiscated 81 false passports from countries such as Korea, Malaysia, Japan, and Singapore, and Chinese currency. The EU has recognized people smuggling and illegal immigration in Spain and Italy as growing problems. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
