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Spanish National Police reported on Thursday that the located 74 irregular migrants last Tuesday, living in overcrowded, precarious conditions, including ten unaccompanied minors, at a property in the El Príncipe neighbourhood of Ceuta.
The operation led to the arrest of a local resident, who is allegedly the leader of a criminal organisation involved in facilitating irregular migration and other criminal activities.
The intervention forms part of an investigation into suspected offences related to facilitating irregular immigration, violations of workers' rights, bodily harm and the labour exploitation of minors.
Police enquiries have uncovered indications that some of the minors housed in the property may have suffered physical assaults, including injuries caused by dog bites. Investigators are also seeking to determine whether both minors and adults were subjected to labour exploitation and forced to carry out various tasks, with their vulnerability being exploited.
Large police deployment in the El Príncipe neighbourhood
The operation required a significant police deployment because of the complexity of the area where the property was located and the potential danger posed by the organisation under investigation. According to the National Police, several of its members have extensive criminal records.
Inside the property, officers found 54 men, ten women and ten unaccompanied foreign minors. The detainee is suspected of offences involving the facilitation of irregular immigration, violations of workers' rights, causing injury to a minor and the labour exploitation of minors.
Police step up operations after migrant camps cleared in Ceuta
The operation comes against a backdrop of increased police activity in Ceuta, following the clearance of the settlements on Benítez beach and El Trampolín. The dismantling of these camps is thought to have led some of the migrants who had been living there to move to other parts of the city, including the El Príncipe neighbourhood.
In response to this situation, the National Police are maintaining surveillance and operational deployments both around and inside the neighbourhood.
The operation also targets the logistical infrastructure of the organisation under investigation, which allegedly housed large numbers of people while preparing to arrange their irregular transfer to mainland Spain.
The investigation was conducted in coordination with various police units along the Andalusian coast and central services, in collaboration with the public prosecutor's office to combat migrant smuggling.