Huge network of people traffickers arrested at several Spanish airports

THE NATIONAL POLICE in Spain and security forces in Britain and France have paired up to bust open an illegal people trafficking network with more than 100 people arrested. 

A huge network of criminal traffickers, all of Chinese origin, used Spanish airports to arrive into Europe from China. 

The airports used by the traffickers were Madrid, Barcelona, Málaga, Bilbao, Palma de Mallorca, Alicante and Arrecife

150 fake passports were recovered from two house searches all proposing to be for Asian nationalities. 

The investigation began in 2013, when a number of arrests were made of Chinese citizens using fake passports. Agents quickly became aware of an illegal trafficking operation operating across Spain, France, UK and China. 

The criminal gang directed their efforts in appealing to Chinese nationals wanting to leave the country, usually intending to arrive in the UK for better prospects. Costs to do this differed depending on the strategy and the route. Direct flights from China into Europe using stolen or fake passports made this possible.

According to police sources this large network of traffickers was highly organised in faking documents and planning routes for the immigrants.