https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Spain in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed Spanish police on Monday said they had arrested 26 suspected smugglers who brought more than 900 migrants to Spain last year, mostly from Algeria, charging 2,500 euros ($2,800) per person. https://www.thelocal.es/20200204/police-arrest-26-for-smuggling-algerians-into-spain Tue, 04 Feb 2020 10:58:46 +0100 police-arrest-26-for-smuggling-algerians-into-spain Police have broken up a family-run human trafficking ring that smuggled Nicaraguan women into Spain where they were forced to care for old people. https://www.thelocal.es/20190808/spanish-police-smash-trafficking-gang-that-forced-women-to-care-for-elderly Thu, 08 Aug 2019 15:29:47 +0200 spanish-police-smash-trafficking-gang-that-forced-women-to-care-for-elderly They scale barbed-wire topped fences and cross the sea in inflatable boats or jet skis -- more than 36,000 migrants entered Spain this year seeking a better life in Europe. Almost all of them relied on smugglers to make the crossing. https://www.thelocal.es/20180918/smugglers-pave-path-for-migrants-from-africa-to-europe Tue, 18 Sep 2018 11:43:20 +0200 smugglers-pave-path-for-migrants-from-africa-to-europe Police have freed 16 women from Nigeria who were forced into prostitution on the streets of Zaragoza after being lured to Europe with the promise of a better life. https://www.thelocal.es/20180201/spanish-police-free-16-women-forced-into-sex-slavery-with-voodoo-threats Thu, 01 Feb 2018 16:17:47 +0100 spanish-police-free-16-women-forced-into-sex-slavery-with-voodoo-threats Witchcraft threats, near-drowning in the Mediterranean, abortions: Spanish police recounted Wednesday the harrowing experiences of young Nigerian migrant girls forced into prostitution in places like Benidorm and eventually rescued. https://www.thelocal.es/20170105/voodoo-threats-and-prostitution-the-plight-of-nigerian-girls-seeking-new-life-in-spain Thu, 05 Jan 2017 10:18:39 +0100 voodoo-threats-and-prostitution-the-plight-of-nigerian-girls-seeking-new-life-in-spain The Spanish Civil Guard reported on Thursday that they had seized 74 elephant tusks that someone was trying to sell using apparently falsified documents. https://www.thelocal.es/20160526/officers-seize-74-elephant-tusks-from-madrid-home-ivory-trade Thu, 26 May 2016 15:11:16 +0200 officers-seize-74-elephant-tusks-from-madrid-home-ivory-trade Spanish authorities have arrested a Belgian-American man on charges of enslavement and diamond pillaging during Sierra Leone’s decade long civil war. https://www.thelocal.es/20150831/spain-arrests-blood-diamond-trafficker Mon, 31 Aug 2015 16:40:45 +0200 spain-arrests-blood-diamond-trafficker Police in Spain have broken up a gang that smuggled Afghans into Europe for a fee of €23,000 https://www.thelocal.es/20150528/police-bust-gang-trafficking-afghans-to-europe Thu, 28 May 2015 10:54:12 +0200 police-bust-gang-trafficking-afghans-to-europe Five people have been arrested for attempting to buy the organ from a penniless immigrant for €6,000. It was to transplant into the son of a criminal gang boss suffering from kidney disease. https://www.thelocal.es/20150518/gang-tried-to-buy-kidney-of-impoverished-immigrant Mon, 18 May 2015 15:21:05 +0200 gang-tried-to-buy-kidney-of-impoverished-immigrant Police have arrested one of Italy's most wanted mafia crime bosses as he went to collect a money transfer on the Costa del Sol. https://www.thelocal.es/20150414/italian-mafia-boss-arrested-in-costa-post-office Tue, 14 Apr 2015 13:47:11 +0200 italian-mafia-boss-arrested-in-costa-post-office Fourteen European nations signed on Wednesday in Spain the first ever international treaty to fight human organ trafficking, a business that generates over one billion dollars in illegal profits worldwide every year. https://www.thelocal.es/20150326/european-nations-sign-worlds-first-organ-trafficking-treaty Thu, 26 Mar 2015 09:51:00 +0100 european-nations-sign-worlds-first-organ-trafficking-treaty A French businessman has been awarded €8,400 in compensation for serving jail time after Spanish police mistook the soap he was transporting for cocaine. https://www.thelocal.es/20150323/prison-after-cops-mistake-soap-for-dope Mon, 23 Mar 2015 11:39:10 +0100 prison-after-cops-mistake-soap-for-dope A gang of Nigerian drugs traffickers has been busted for recruiting mules from Spanish unemployment queues, as well as for trafficking drugs into Japan disguised as sweets. https://www.thelocal.es/20141219/drug-gang-recruited-mules-from-unemployment-office Fri, 19 Dec 2014 12:46:00 +0100 drug-gang-recruited-mules-from-unemployment-office A human trafficking ring that smuggled Chinese migrants into Europe and the United States has been dismantled and 75 people have been arrested in Spain and France, Spanish police said on Saturday. https://www.thelocal.es/20130810/arrests-made-in-spain-after-trafficking-ring-busted Sat, 10 Aug 2013 13:38:00 +0200 arrests-made-in-spain-after-trafficking-ring-busted The illegal sex trade in Spain generates a staggering €5 million a day, Spanish police have revealed as authorities launch a new ad campaign to try to crack down on the exploitation and trafficking of women. https://www.thelocal.es/20130415/spains-illegal-sex-trade-worth-5-million-a-day Mon, 15 Apr 2013 15:31:00 +0200 spains-illegal-sex-trade-worth-5-million-a-day