The Civil Guard dismantled four organizations dedicated to the trafficking of migrant children
They charged the families of the minors to move them from Morocco to the Spanish coast, and from the reception centers to cities such as Barcelona, Valencia or Bilbao
There are 16 people arrested, all of Moroccan nationality, who had apartments in different municipalities of Cádiz and Sevilla
The Civil Guard has dismantled four organized groups dedicated to retaining and transferring migrant children from Morocco to the Spanish coast. The minors were later displaced from the reception centers to other Spanish cities such as Barcelona, Valencia and Bilbao.
There are 16 people detained, all of Moroccan nationality, who operated from Morocco and from the Campo de Gibraltar. The detainees used apartments in different municipalities of Cadiz and Seville.
The dismantled organizations induced the children to travel on board boats and inflatable boats chartered by the leaders of this network and lacking security. They were also persuaded to hide in buses or trucks.
When the children reached the Peninsula, the organizations contacted the children or their families, and agreed to a price -between 600 and 800 euros- to transfer them to provinces such as Barcelona, Bilbao or Valencia. While the payment was taking place, the minors were held in homes that the organization managed in Cadiz and Seville.
More than 250 leaks from the juvenile center
The investigations on the first group began at the end of last year in a center for the reception of minors in the province of Seville. There, the Civil Guard found that a total of 253 children had escaped in 2018.
The four members of the first dismantled organization – residents in Pilas (Seville) and Tarragona – picked up minors in the vicinity of this center. They are accused of crimes against the rights of foreign citizens, favoring illegal immigration, illegal detention and belonging to a criminal organization.
In parallel, the researchers detected another organization that operated in the towns of Algeciras and San Pablo de Buceite (Cádiz). This second group had two houses in which minors were held. This organization had a branch in Morocco, with which it coordinated the landings of minors in Spain. Four other people were arrested for these acts.
The components of the third group – four people of Moroccan nationality – resided in the localities of Alcalá de Guadaira and Guillena (Seville). In this case, the organization captured the minors in the town of Bornos (Cádiz) and from there, moved them to the province of Seville and later to Barcelona. After five house searches, the Civil Guard seized computer equipment and a marijuana plantation.
The last organization also operated in a juvenile center in the province of Seville. There are four detainees for crimes against the rights of foreign citizens, favoring illegal immigration and belonging to a criminal group.
For more information, you can contact the Peripheral Communications Office of the Civil Guard of Seville, at 954 23 53 22.
