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Date Published: 04/03/2022

ARCHIVED - Police break up Murcia gang that sold fake employment contracts to illegal migrants

ARCHIVED ARTICLE

The criminal network charged up to 7,000 euros to vulnerable foreigners who needed to regularise their situation in Spain

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - Police break up Murcia gang that sold fake employment contracts to illegal migrants

Spanish Police have dismantled a criminal organisation which has spent years selling fraudulent employment contracts to foreign citizens in the Region of Murcia so they can regularise their situation in the country or collect unemployment benefits.

Every year, thousands of migrants cross into Spain from other countries, mostly via sea from Morocco and landing in southern regions like Murcia and Andalucía. Because these people are not European citizens and have entered into Spain by illegal means, they don’t have the right to live, work or have a social security number, among other basic necessities.

See also: Spain-Morocco border in Melilla experiences its biggest illegal crossing attempt ever

For that reason, a criminal network was set up to provide these people with false documents that would help them get onto the social security system, as long as they stumped up enough cash. Here’s how it worked.

While one of the members of the organisation went around recruiting the foreigners who needed to regularise their situation in Spain, others were dedicated to giving the appearance of legality through a mock fruit and vegetable company that would provide them with work contracts.

The investigation carried out by the Unit Against Immigration Networks and Documentary Falsification of the National Police in Murcia was able to discern that this company was not real, and nor were the jobs.

Tax and Social Security fraud

The intention of the organisation was to profit financially from foreign citizens in a situation of need and vulnerability. They were in an irregular situation in the country and urgently needed a work contract.

This is where the recruiters came into play, offering work contracts at a price ranging from 4,000 to 7,000 euros so that the foreign citizen could obtain or renew a residence permit, and could also receive unemployment benefits or subsidies from Spain’s Social Security.

Every member of the criminal gang has now been arrested. The detainees, five men and one woman, aged between 31 and 59 and of Spanish, Moroccan and Romanian nationality, have been brought before the courts for their alleged involvement in the crimes of belonging to a criminal organisation, facilitating illegal immigration and document forgery.

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Image: Policía Nacional