The Spanish and French national police dismantled a major criminal network involved in migrant smuggling, trafficking of human beings and drug trafficking, the agency for law enforcement cooperation Europol announced on Tuesday.
The operation, supported by The Hague-based Europol, resulted in the arrest of 26 suspects in Spain and 3 in France, a total of fourteen house searches and the seizure of 33,000 euros (36,377 U.S. dollars), various documents, computer equipment, more than 200 kilogram of hashish, a vehicle and a trailer.
The criminal network was, according to Europol, allegedly led by the administrator of a company owning buses, a Moroccan citizen. The buses were a main part of the criminal activities as they were used for migrant smuggling, trafficking of human beings and also for drug trafficking, namely hashish.
The crime group allegedly approached minors in protection centers for refugees in Spain and incited them to escape and start a journey towards western Europe. The migrants were transported from the Spanish port of Almeria to France on buses owned by companies located in France, Morocco and Spain.
The investigation began with the arrest of a Spanish national in France who was driving a bus with 22 irregular migrants on board, six of whom were minors. This founding triggered the large-scale investigation in Spain, followed by France.
