The 74 migrants, including 10 unaccompanied minors, were found living in overcrowded and hazardous conditions in a building in Ceuta. A local man is suspected of leading a criminal network involved in migrant smuggling and labor exploitation, police say and has been arrested.
Spanish police say they have found 74 migrants, including 10 unaccompanied minors, living in overcrowded and hazardous conditions in a building in the Príncipe neighborhood of Ceuta, a Spanish territory in North Africa.
A statement released by Spain’s Interior Ministry on Thursday (October 22) announced that officers had arrested a local Ceuta man suspected of leading a criminal network allegedly involved in facilitating irregular migration, labor exploitation and other offenses.
Spain’s National Police found indications that some of the minors may have suffered physical abuse, including injuries caused by dog bites. Police say they are also investigating allegations that adults and children were exploited for work, taking advantage of their vulnerable circumstances.
The police operation follows the clearance of migrant encampments at Ceuta’s Benítez and El Trampolín beach, which drove some people to move to other parts of the city, including Príncipe, according to the statement. Police said the building had been used to accommodate migrants awaiting help to travel irregularly to mainland Spain.
The investigation involved coordination between police units along Spain’s southern coast and at national level, working with prosecutors specializing in migrant smuggling. The suspect, meanwhile, has been referred to the judicial authorities.
Read AlsoMoroccan migrants refuse to leave Ceuta
How is Ceuta impacting Spain's upcoming elections?
July’s mass arrivals of more than 70,000 migrants in Ceuta has become a political liability for Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez ahead of the country's upcoming November 29 general election.
A September poll found that 63 percent of Spanish nationals disapproved of his handling of the Ceuta migration situation, giving the conservative Popular Party (PP) and far-right Vox an opportunity to attack his migration policy and portray his government as failing to protect Spanish territory. His left-wing government had already faced heavy criticism both at home and abroad over its decision to open a path to legal status for hundreds of thousands of foreign residents.
But Sánchez, who has previously managed to swing back from political setbacks, could again regain ground as public discourse over Ceuta and the migrant regularization scheme fades from the spotlight.
While migration management dominates media headlines in many other European countries, housing affordability and the cost of living are increasingly dominating Spain’s election campaign and public protests, potentially shifting the focus towards social issues on which Sánchez’s government hopes to gain support from the electorate.