Albacete.- Members of the Civil Guard and the National Police of Albacete, with the collaboration of the Provincial Labour and Social Security Inspectorate of that capital, have arrested four people, between 28 and 54 years of age, members of a criminal organization based in Albacete, dedicated to the labor exploitation of foreign citizens in an irregular situation.
This was announced this Friday by the delegate of the Government of Spain in Castilla-La Mancha, Milagros Tolón, who appeared at a press conference in Albacete together with the Provincial Chief Commissioner of the National Police of Albacete, Antonio Bueno; and the head of the Command of the Civil Guard, Colonel Jesus Manuel Rodrigo. The government’s deputy delegate in Albacete, Miguel Juan Espinosa, has also attended.
With this operation “a criminal network has been dismantled that took advantage of the vulnerability and dreams of people who came to Spain looking for a better future for themselves and their families and found deception and abuse,” said the government delegate.
Milagros Tolón has highlighted that there have been several bodies and units of both the Civil Guard and the National Police, which has participated in the resolution of this case, in addition to the Labour and Alien Inspection services. In this way, “it is demonstrated once again that police cooperation and institutional collaboration improves effectiveness in the fight against crime and guarantees comprehensive protection for citizens.”
Performances and modus operandi
In June 2024, agents of the Benemérita Albacéña Command, along with others from the Provincial Brigade of Foreigners and Borders of the National Police Station of Albacete, learned of the possible existence of a criminal organization, based in the capital of Albacéte, that could be dedicated to the exploitation of illegal immigrants in the workplace in order to profit from it.
The modus operandi used by the criminal network consisted first of providing accommodation to irregular immigrants, to facilitate their hiding in different homes, both in Albacete capital and in the town of Casas de Juan Núñez, capturing a large number of migrants.
Once these migrants settled in the province of Albacete, the members of the organization managed to transport and document other regular foreign citizens of the same nationality, all in order to be employed and exploited without being detected by the authorities.
Abusive commissions
As has been reported in the press conference, the organization imposed harsh working conditions on the exploited, carrying out days that sometimes reached 12 hours uninterrupted, charging them both for the trips to the workplaces, for the homes they rerented for them and even for the food provided in the workplaces. These charges meant that the workers’ wages were greatly reduced, with most of them going to the criminal organization.
In addition to the profits generated by the labor exploitation, the organization also obtained considerable income by renting properties in the town of Albacete and Casas de Juan Núñez, which then rerented foreign workers in an irregular situation, with very poor living conditions, detecting up to 30 people in the same house. These workers were paid 120 euros for mattresses deposited in garages and rooftops, as well as for processing their registrations.
With its criminal activity, the organization favored illegal immigration, generating a knock-on effect for other citizens who may be in the same situation, in contravention of the regulations on regularizations of legal stay in Spanish territory.
Inspections
Personnel from the National Police Force of Albacete, the Civil Guard of Albacete and the Provincial Labour and Social Security Inspectorate, also from Albacete, participated in the labour inspections carried out during the police investigations.
In the final phase of the “HERMANOS SHIFA” operation, the investigative units carried out six home searches, five in Albacete and one in the town of Casas de Juan Núñez, where several mobile phones, computer equipment, invoices and work parts, fraudulent documentation and proof of criminal activity, clandestine parallel accounting, 2,590 € in cash were intervened. Likewise, fifteen bank accounts that managed the dismantled criminal organization have been blocked, with a total of 35,000 euros.
Intervening units
The investigations have been carried out by members of the Provincial Brigade for Foreigners and Borders of the Provincial Commissariat of the National Police Force of Albacete together with the Information Group of the Command of the Civil Guard of Albacete, as well as by the Central Information Headquarters of the Benemérita (UCE3), under the coordination of the Office of the Delegate Prosecutor for Foreigners of the Provincial Prosecutor ' s Office of Albacete.
In addition, the final phase of the police operation was supported by members of the National Police Corps of the Commissars of Albacete (UPR) and Albacete (Citizen Security), the Information Zone Section of Castilla-La Mancha, the Citizen Security Unit of Albacete (USECIC), as well as the Cinological Service of the Benemérita Albacete Command.
Likewise, during the exploitation phase, support was received from cultural mediators for dealing with the victims, thus far freeing 30 people.
Inquired/Detained and Investigated Inquiries
The proceedings, conducted jointly by the Provincial Brigade for Foreigners and Borders of the Provincial Commissariat of the National Police Force and the Information Group of the Albacete Civil Guard Command, together with the detainees, have been placed at the disposal of Examining Court No. DOS of the town of Albacete, which has heard about the proceedings.
Although the police operation is almost complete, no new arrests are ruled out in connection with the criminal acts investigated.
More information:
OPC of the Albacete Command. Phone 967 814218.