Two men have been convicted in Ceuta after admitting to housing undocumented migrants inside a residential garage space for €900 a month per person.
The defendants were sentenced at a summary hearing following an investigation by National Police specialist units UCRIF Central and UCRIF Ceuta.
One suspect, a local Ceuta resident, received a nine-month prison sentence for an offence against foreign nationals and six months for making threats. His 15-month total custodial sentence was suspended for five years on the condition that he commits no further offences.
The second defendant, a Moroccan national who acted as an intermediary, was ordered to be deported from Spain with a five-year re-entry ban.
Neighborhood complaints trigger operation
The police inquiry, codenamed Operation Senen, began after residents of the Mirasol building on Avenida de los Reyes Católicos alerted authorities to individuals gathering in communal parking areas.
Surveillance operations revealed that closed garage bays were being used as temporary shelter for up to 20 migrants awaiting covert passage to mainland Spain.
During raids, officers found eight migrants, including two women, living inside the complex.
Substantial fees and coercion reported
Witness statements taken with official interpreters detailed an extortionate fee structure. One occupant reported paying €900 for a month’s shelter while awaiting a promised mainland transit costing €6,000.
Two female witnesses reported paying an initial €350 to an intermediary and a further €450 upon arrival, only to find substandard living conditions inside the communal garage. The court heard that both women were subjected to threats and coercion when they cooperated with police, prompting officers to initiate emergency witness protection measures.