Spain’s National Police said officers found 74 migrants at a property in Ceuta on Oct. 20, including 10 unaccompanied minors, as investigators examined suspected immigration offenses and possible exploitation.
The address was in the El Príncipe district. Police counted 54 men, 10 women and 10 unaccompanied foreign minors among those present, and said people there were living in crowded, poor conditions.
Police listed suspected facilitation of irregular immigration, offenses against workers’ rights, injury to a minor and labor exploitation of minors among the possible offenses. Separately, officers are investigating whether adults as well as minors were exploited for work. Police said they had indications that some minors may have suffered physical assaults, including possible dog-bite injuries. These are investigative allegations.
Police considered the detained Ceuta resident the suspected main figure in the organization. The resident was brought before a judicial authority on Thursday, Oct. 22, police said.
The National Police connected the discovery to recent clearances of migrant settlements at Benítez beach and El Trampolín. It said some people who had been at those sites moved to other parts of Ceuta, including El Príncipe. EFE separately reported that more than 350 officers took part in clearance operations across Ceuta on Oct. 18.
Early local reports gave different figures. Ceuta TV initially reported more than 60 people and one arrest, while El Pueblo de Ceuta later described nearly 100 people across several homes and two arrests. The police statement issued Oct. 22 specified 74 people at one property and one detainee. The reports did not explain whether the varying totals reflected different stages or the scope of the operation.
