BayRadio Listen Live Broadcasting in Spain
CATALAN police have rescued 10 people working as slaves for a Chinese mafia gang and forced to grow cannabis in four warehouses across the region.
Officers of the Catalunya police Mossos d’Esquadra found them living in inhumane conditions – locked in rooms with no windows and sleeping on cardboard beds – some being held prisoner for over a year.
Eight people were arrested in the swoop and four have been remanded in custody. They are alleged to be part of the Chinese ‘snakehead’ gang which operates in the Fujian region.
The investigation was launched in 2019 to clampdown on people trafficking. However, instead of arriving in Spain to work in the sex industry or in supermarkets; the workers – including two women – were locked away in the drug farms to work off their debt to the mafia for smuggling them across the world – the cost estimated at between €10,000 and €30,000.
“It is the first time that the operation has aimed to free these people, as well as charging the criminal organization for their crimes,” explains Toni Salleras, the head of the Mossos organized crime unit.
Using wiretaps, the investigators heard the gangsters discussing their hostages. “They said that some of them had not left the warehouse for more than a year.”
He said production of marijuana was at “an industrial rate” and the prisoners were involved at every stage on the production line.
It is estimated the mafia gang profited to the tune of €2 million from the illicit operation – sending the drugs by parcel delivery service to the United Kingdom and Holland.
Written by: BayRadio News
Ctra. Cabo La Nao, CC La Nao, Local 6 03730 Javea, Alicante, Spain
Do you have a business in Spain? Do you provide a service to the expat community in Spain? Would you like your message to reach over 500.000 people on a weekly basis?
BayRadio is a community orientated radio station offering fantastic content to our many listeners and followers across our various platforms. Contact us now and find out what Bay can do for you!
Our business is helping your business grow.
BAY RADIO S.L. © 2024. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. WEB DESIGN BY MEDIANIC