Isha Sesay
POLICE have arrested 40 gang members in Mallorca for falsifying immigration documents.
Many of the fake papers were to help family members of the gang reside in Spain, Policia Nacional said.
An investigation into the organisation revealed that they had been able to put through hundreds of applications using fraudulent tenancy contracts.
These documents allowed their relatives to obtain legal residency in either Palma or Manacor.
The gang would charge between €500 to €3,500 for each application.
Out of the total arrests, 39 are of Moroccan nationality, with one being Spanish and reportedly the kingpin of the gang,
The Spaniard would produce urban lease contracts for his property, listing members of the gang as his tenants.
These were then used to support official requests for family reunification at immigration offices.
All those arrested have been charged with falsifying documents and aiding illegal immigration.
It comes after it was reported that the Moroccan mafia netted a whopping €160 million in the trade of illegal immigrants in the past three years.
According to a recent study by the European Border Agency (Frontex), there has been a sharp increase in the number of immigrants reaching Spanish shores.
In 2017, it was estimated that human traffickers earned around €35 million, which then sky rocketed to €105 million in 2018 before dropping significantly to €19 million in 2019.
The majority of immigrants landing on Spanish soil originate from Morocco and Algeria, with facilitator networks pocketing up to €3,000 per person.
