Costa News Spain Breaking News | English News in Spain.
EIGHTEEN men, from Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia, have been rescued by the Spanish police from a tobacco factory that was illegally operating in Andalucia. They were being forced to produce eight million fake cigarettes per day in inhumane circumstances.
Guardia Civil revealed the rescue on Tuesday after uncovering it while investigating suspected drug trafficking at a Malaga warehouse.
Instead, they discovered a group migrant workers and migrants exploited in three secretive factories in Malaga Cordoba and Sevilla.
All of the victims were lured to Malaga Airport by false promises about well-paid construction work.
Instead, they went directly to secret storage facilities where they had to work 12-hour days without pay to repay a “fabricated debt”.
They were crammed in overcrowded areas, without sunlight or proper sanitation.
The authorities have called the conditions inhumane.
21 people were arrested for human trafficking, fraud on the Spanish tax agency and tobacco smuggling. They also had intellectual property violations as well.
The operation, worth over €3 million, allegedly defrauded the tax office of up to €2 million a day. Authorities seized the entire inventory of materials at the factory.
Guardia Civil is still investigating the criminal network, despite its dismantlement.
The Olive Press is a great source for Andalucia News.
