National police in Alicante mounted a huge operation to take down a human trafficking and drug smuggling gang. 22 arrests were made and over a dozen house searches were carried out during the simultaneous operation in which over a hundred agents were involved.
The gang is believed to have smuggled people from the Algerian coast into Spain by boat and was also involved in other criminal activities such as drug trafficking and robberies. During the raids, officers seized cash, a quantity of drugs including ecstasy, four vehicles and a large quantity of stolen goods.
The investigation which led to this week’s raids was carried out by the Unit against Immigration Networks and Falsification of Documents (UCRIF) of the National Police. The court handling the case is based in Almería and has imposed a secrecy order so no further details about the modus operandi of the gang have been disclosed.
Officers from the UCRIF of Alicante and Almería as well as Immigration and Border control officers coordinated to carry out a dozen home searches in the north of Alicante, the vast majority in the Virgen del Remedio neighborhood, where there are a large number of residents of Algerian origin.
The UCRIF officers had the support of numerous other officers including canine handlers. Likewise, the National Police helicopter was supporting the operation from the air.
The vast majority of those arrested are of Algerian origin, although there are also some Spaniards among those detained. Investigators took take statements from those arrested and those with a lesser degree of involvement in the gang have been provisionally released. The rest are set to appear in court once the proceedings are completed.