Spain Dismantles Criminal Organization That Smuggled Pakistani Immigrants From Bosnia-Herzegovina to Spain
Schengenvisainfo | 03 Jan 2023
A criminal organisation has been dismantled by the Spanish National Police, which facilitated the irregular entry of Pakistani immigrants from Bosnia-Herzegovina into Spain using the Balkan route.
Through a statement issued on December 22, the Ministry of the Interior of Spain revealed that Pakistani immigrants were forced to pay between €12,000 and €20,000 each to this organisation, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
“Their journey ended in Barcelona, where the organisation found accommodation and transportation for them to A Coruña and Huesca to work irregularly as restaurant and supermarket employees,” the statement reads.
According to the Ministry, two entries and three inspections were carried out, leading to the arrest of eight people, three in A Coruña, two in Alicante, two in Barcelona, and one in Huesca. At the same time, the agents intercepted eight mobile phones, computer storage, equipment, and various documents.
The Balkan route was used by the now-dismantled criminal group to organize clandestine migration trips for Pakistani citizens. This route is known for migrants fleeing from countries like Pakistan and Iran to Turkey, as many of them reach Bosnia-Herzegovina, where they then gather at the border with Croatia, waiting to cross into Europe.
As the Ministry explains, the members of this organisation called “passadores” led the migrants on foot through the mountains that separate Bosnia and Croatia before they were transferred to Italy to end up in Barcelona. Such a trip was made with the vehicles of members of the organisation located in Spain, paying up to €20,000 for the entire trip.
Moreover, after arriving in Barcelona, other members of the organisation were responsible for the accommodation and transport of these Pakistani migrants to Huesca and A Coruña, under the intention of employing them irregularly in supermarkets and restaurants. This means that the criminal group provided them not only with the trip, but also with work contracts.
Through the investigation carried out by the Spanish police, two entrances and house checks were also carried out, another one in Huesca and one in A Coruña. Three work inspections were then carried out – one in a restaurant in A Coruña, another in a restaurant in Huesca, and a third in a supermarket in the capital of Huesca.
In this regard, during the controls, several victims were found without any type of documentation that proves their legal status in Spain or a work contract.
The police have also arrested eight people who are involved in membership in the criminal organisation and favouring illegal immigration. The same has seized eight mobile devices, computer equipment, and various documentation.