- The detainee housed his victims in rooms of four houses and a commercial premises of his property in exchange for rents ranging from 250 to 450 euros per month
- In addition, he fraudulently registered them in exchange for another financial compensation and offered them work in a construction company, imposing abusive working conditions
The National Police, in collaboration with the Local Police of Eibar, has arrested a man for his alleged involvement in human trafficking crimes and against the rights of workers.
The investigations began when researchers from the San Sebastian Foreigners Task Force (GOE II) learned that a man of Moroccan origin who is engaged in reforms in the construction sector could be fraudulently registering migrants in an irregular situation to take them into their homes and exploit them in the labour market.
After the corresponding inquiries, the agents discovered that the suspect housed the migrants in rooms of four houses and a slice of their property in exchange for rents ranging from 250 to 450 euros.
These accommodations were in a very poor state of conservation, as they lacked heating, bed bases and essential appliances to be able to make a dignified life, not to mention the existence of large humidity spots on the walls and insects. In the case of the commercial premises, despite not having a habitability certificate, it was also used to host the victims in exchange for 300 euros per month.
In this sense, they were able to find out that, in about a year and a half, it had reached the accommodation of 49 people, who, due to their irregular situation, the scarce financial resources they had and the lack of knowledge of the language and the legislation, had no alternative but to accept. With these rents alone, the detainee received 5,700 per month.
Going deeper into the investigation, the agents discovered that the suspect also profited by fraudulently registering these people in exchange for another financial compensation and that he gave them work in a company in the construction sector without a work contract, with working days that far exceeded the established schedule, without personal protective equipment and without paying them in many cases overtime and even monthly payments.
For all these reasons, on 30 December, his detention was carried out, and he is currently at liberty pending trial.