SOLARPIX
These international smugglers were bringing immigrants into the UK in refrigerated lorries
Entire families with young children including babies would spend up to two days hidden in the backs of the HGVs at temperatures just above freezing point.
The operation which led to six arrests this week in the cities of Valencia and Bilbao followed the discovery of 16 illegal immigrants last year in the back of three lorries bound for Britain.
Six members of the same Iraqi family, including four children, were discovered in the back of a refrigerated lorry at a service station last February at Ferreruela de Huerva near Teruel in eastern Spain.
The following month eight Iraqis including four children were discovered in almost identical circumstance near the same spot after raising the alarm because they feared they were “going to die from cold”.
Footage released by Spanish police today showed an army of heavily-armed officers outside one of the properties they raided while one shouted out: “Open the door, we’re the police, open up or we’ll break it down,” and yelling “Get on the ground” as they raced in.
Five people have been arrested in Valencia including the ringleader and one in Bilbao
Sniffer dogs were used to search the flats and seize thousands of pounds before the suspects were taken away in handcuffs.
The alleged gang ringleader is an Iraqi-born man with Spanish citizenship who was living in Valencia.
Five of the arrests took place in Valencia and the sixth in Bilbao. Around £19,000 in dollars and euros was seized.
A spokesman for Spain’s National Police confirmed: “An international organisation of Iraqi origin which smuggled compatriots into the EU illegally, has been smashed in a joint National Police and Civil Guard operation.
“The organisation would get them into the Northern European countries, Spain or France from Iraqi Kurdistan and then put them inside refrigerated lorries bound for the UK.
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The gang charged between £3000-£8000 depending on the risk and method of transport
“It is believed to be behind the cases discovered in Ferreruela de Huerva and Villafranca del Campo in Teruel last year.
“The ringleader, an Iraqi with Spanish citizenship living in Valencia, masterminded the movement of the immigrants around different European countries, while other members of the organisation acted like a roaming cell.
“The prices they charged ranged from €3,000 (£2,645) to €10,000 (£8,818) depending on the type of transport and risk.
“Five people have been arrested in Valencia including the ringleader and one in Bilbao.”
EU law enforcement agency EUROPOL cooperated in the operation against the gang, which Spanish police said today had been “operating for years.”
SOLARPIX
The gang had been operating throughout Europe for years, with a central mastermind and mobile cells
The joint police team that smashed the gang was coordinated by the Intelligence Centre for Counter-Terrorism and Organised Crime, a Spanish intelligence agency responsible for the prevention of domestic terrorism, organised crime and other violent radical organisations.
Police say ports like Santander in northern Spain or Calais or Dunkirk in France were favoured by the gang.
Describing their modus operandi when they used refrigerated lorries to try to smuggle people into Britain, a Spanish National Police spokesman said: “It consisted of the introduction of groups of between six and eight people, generally families with young children including babies just months old, in the back of refrigerated trucks bound for the UK.
“The members of the organisation would try to obtain detailed information about the destination of the vehicles and while the driver was resting overnight, smuggle people into the cargo hold without him realising.
“The normal length of stay would be between 30 and 40 hours at temperatures of no more than four degrees Celsius.
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The group gave drugs to those travelling to calm them down due to near-freezing conditions
“The gang was conscious of the risks these sorts of journeys entailed, and they acted with complete disdain for the lives and wellbeing of the people they were trying to smuggle into Britain.
“At times they even resorted to hitting those who had panic attacks while they were travelling or giving them drugs to calm them down.
“The price people were charged increased considerably if they requested the presence of a smuggler inside the back of the lorry to help them.”
The arrests took place on Wednesday. The suspects have been handed over to a judge in Teruel and were due to appear in court in closed hearings today.
They are expected to face human trafficking charges as well as money laundering allegations.