Bolivians paid 10,000 euros to go to Spain with false visas

An international mafia dedicated to migrant trafficking was dismantled yesterday in Spain. This gang took Bolivian citizens to Europe and Africa with false visas and had the complicity of Bolivian travel agencies that were dedicated to recruiting people in various cities in the country. Each victim was charged between 8,000 and 10,000 euros to be transported to Spain.

77 people were arrested yesterday in several cities in Spain. Of this number, six are the leaders of this mafia. The research was carried out since 2022 and the actions were carried out by the Spanish Police, Europol and the United States Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

This organization specialized in the illegal immigration of Bolivian citizens had a perfectly designed pyramid structure with a network of collaborators on two levels: couriers and logistics personnel, who were located in Spain, Bolivia, Turkey and Egypt.

This transnational mafia, according to the investigation, had recruiters and travel agencies in Boliviawhich in collaboration with agencies located in Spain, were responsible for organizing the migrants’ journey from Bolivia to Istanbul, Turkey, or Cairo (Egypt).

In those countries, victims were housed in hotels until the organization He sent them Spanish passports of naturalized citizens of Bolivian origin who cooperated with the organization under investigation. With these passports, the migrants traveled to Madrid or Barcelona passing through border control, pretending to be their true holders. This whole operation for a Bolivian migrant It used to cost between 8,000 and 10,000 euros.

During the police operation in Spain, in which more than 200 officers participated, ten searches were carried out in homes and travel agencies in Catalonia, in which 517,335 euros in cash, 11 passports and various documents were seized, which were submitted for consideration for the investigation.

This investigation is still ongoing and the collaboration of the Central Office of Document Operations -Punto Atenas- was essential for the success of the investigation, according to Spanish media.

The Athens Point operates in Europe as a “call center” for quick consultations by any European police officer, who in the course of his or her actions detect documents with signs of forgery or of dubious authenticity.

If the answer is positive, the agents at Punto Atenas will prepare a technical report with a digital signature within a maximum of ten minutes, which will be sent to the email address of the police station or unit where they are working. “In this way, an effective and rapid response is given “to possible doubts that may arise regarding the veracity of identity, travel or driving documents linked to irregular immigration,” says part of a document from Punto Atenas.

This international organization was based in Spain and Italy and had collaborators in Libya, Bolivia and Mexico. The investigation, which began in 2022, had its origin in the detection, by the agents, of a significant increase in the flow of illegal immigration by citizens of Indian origin and the use of Spain as a transit country towards Mexico. The final objective was to go to the United States or Canada.

That was the starting point of the investigation and according to the investigations carried out, the investigators were able to determine the existence of an international criminal organization, based mainly in the Spanish cities of Barcelona, ​​Madrid and Bilbao. They were also in Italy, with collaborators in Libya, Bolivia and Mexico, which had two independent branches, but directly related and managed by the main suspects.

As for the faction of the organisation focused on illegal immigration of citizens of Indian origin, the criminal activity began with the recruitment of citizens in their country of origin. From there, they were flown to Bahrain and then to Egypt, to end their journey in Libya. The organisation was responsible for providing them with false visas for border crossing, as well as accommodation in the different cities they travelled to.

Once in Libya, the victims were embarked in small boats (large boats) with more than 130 people to the island of Lampedusa, Italy. These people endured journeys of 28 hours, without water or food.

The Bolivian victims suffered something similar. They were taken from Bolivia to Türkiye or Egypt. and from there they were transported to Spain by bus or by air.

Yesterday, the Bolivian Police announced that it will ask its Spanish counterparts, through the Foreign Ministry, for information on the criminal organization that was dedicated to trafficking Bolivians in the European country.

“We are going to make the requests, we are going to talk with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs so that, through our Embassy (in Spain), Information on Bolivians who have been identified is requested or who had been found with false documentation,” the director general of the Unit for the Fight against Human Trafficking, Carola Arraya, told RTP.

The police authority added that they do not yet know the details of the operation carried out by the Spanish Police; but that, from Bolivia, they will collaborate with the investigations once the reports of the case are submitted.

“The only thing we know about the criminal organization is that people have been arrested and that money and other belongings have been seized. However, There is no information on the immigrants referred to.“This is sensitive information and we are waiting for the Foreign Ministry to obtain official information,” Arraya added.

In April this year, 69 Bolivian citizens were detained in the port of Barcelona, ​​Spain, for carrying false visas. This group was part of an MSC Cruises trip that left Brazil. After being stranded for two days, the Spanish government determined that the Bolivian citizens – along with 14 children – be deported back to La Paz. With this measure, the Spanish authorities allowed the ship, with 1,400 passengers on board, to continue its journey to Italy.