The National Police dismantled three independent houses in the northern area of Alicante which were used to accommodate irregular migrants and which had become “patera apartments”.
Many of these migrants, coming from Algeria and Moroccohad recently arrived on the Spanish coast aboard boats that docked in unauthorized places, as reported by the police in a press release.
In exchange for a financial sum, the people currently detained, six people of whom only one was legally in Spain and two others had a criminal record for other acts, provided them with a place to stay temporarily hidden in the national territory. .
During the investigation, three independently functioning houses were inspected.
The houses were in “poor condition” and showed signs of renovation. Some of them lacked thermal insulation. The houses had three bedrooms, a living room, a bathroom and a kitchen, but they were occupied by numerous beds, mattresses on the floor, as well as shoes, suitcases and scattered clothes.
Sleep on a balcony
Migrants were only allowed to sleep in these houses, without access to private rooms or exclusive bathrooms. On one of the floors, a migrant was found sleeping on the floor of a balcony, covered with blankets.
These people paid between 10 and 20 euros per night stay in these houses. In some cases, the monthly rent for a bed reached between 300 and 600 euros. At the time of the police intervention, 17 people occupied the three floors.
The National Police learned that this activity constituted the only source of income for several of the detainees, five men and one woman, all of Algerian nationality, aged between 22 and 57 years old.
All are under investigation as alleged perpetrators of the offense of promoting illegal immigration. The actions were brought to the attention of the Alicante Guard Instruction Court.
As reported by the police, article 318 bis.2 of the Penal Code punishes those who help illegal foreigners so that they can stay illegally in Spain, provided that they do so for profit. This includes, for example, “rents in poor conditions or charges for unsafe living spaces”.
The law aims to protect migrants who, due to their lack of protection, “are sometimes forced to accept accommodation in poor conditions”.
People who take advantage of this situation can face “relatively high prison sentences and fines, as these acts are considered very serious and aim to prevent the most vulnerable from being exploited.”
