Five arrested for running unsanitary migrant shelter

The National Police have arrested five people in Alicante for operating a makeshift shelter in the northern part of the city. The premises were set up to house migrants arriving on the Spanish mainland in precarious boats after paying illegal immigration networks. All five individuals arrested have been charged with facilitating illegal immigration, whilst three of them also face charges of coercion and extortion against one of the detainees, whose brother owns the property.

The operation was conducted by Group III of the Unit against Immigration Networks and Document Fraud (UCRIF) from the Provincial Police Station. UCRIF investigators located a house in the northern district of Alicante, close to Lo Morant Park, which they suspected was being used as a makeshift migrant shelter for individuals arriving in the province in precarious boats from Algeria.

Upon inspecting the property, officers discovered four people registered as living there, including two of Algerian origin, and noted that the property owner had nine properties registered in his name. Once all details regarding the overcrowded property were gathered, the National Police carried out an inspection and found the flat in an alarming state of hygiene, heavily infested with cockroaches.

The overcrowded apartment comprised five numbered rooms, each containing several beds. At the time of the search, six migrants were present, each offering differing accounts of their payment arrangements. One individual stated he paid 270 euro a month to sleep in the same bed every night, another paid 450 euro for a room shared with his brother, and others reported paying ten euro per night to stay in the flat.

The migrants explained that they worked without contracts in agriculture, construction, and scrap metal collection, while one mentioned that his family sent him money from his country of origin. They further indicated that they did not hold keys to the property, but someone was always available to open the door for them.

Housing management: Police discovered that a Lebanese woman managed the flat, working through an intermediary who was paid directly by the occupants. This intermediary, a 46-year-old Algerian man, was present during the initial entry and was arrested in the first phase of the operation alongside the 58-year-old Lebanese woman. Neither had a prior criminal record, and both were charged with facilitating illegal immigration.

As the UCRIF continued its investigation, the Lebanese woman provided a new statement at the police station detailing how other individuals had been coercing and extorting her. These men had left the property following the initial police intervention but later returned to the flat.

She explained that the flat belonged to her brother and that she had leased it for three months to two Algerian citizens who only paid 250 euro for the first month and stopped paying the remainder. The owner’s sister added that they threatened her if she attempted to evict them and tried to extort 2,000 euro from her in exchange for leaving the overcrowded apartment.

Investigators identified two Algerian men and another compatriot who were not only coercing the woman but were also allegedly responsible for bringing migrants arriving by boat into the home. Following their identification, police arrested three Algerian men, aged 40, 38, and 30, all of whom have prior criminal records.