Spanish police dismantle network accused of trafficking underage migrant girls

Spanish Civil Guard police have dismantled a criminal network suspected of recruiting underage female migrants from care centers in Gran Canaria. The network allegedly transported these girls to mainland Spain and France, where some faced sexual exploitation.

The investigation began after a migrant girl, under the care of authorities in Gran Canaria, returned to Spain from France. She informed investigators that she had been recruited after being promised work. The Civil Guard stated that similar cases involved girls leaving care centers without their personal documents, with subsequent investigations revealing a link to flights to mainland Spain.

The network is believed to have exploited the girls' vulnerability, offering assistance to leave the Canary Islands. They allegedly provided forged identity or travel documents and arranged air and land transport. The goal was to facilitate their departure from the islands and subsequent transfer to mainland Spain and France.

Authorities reported rescuing two victims and preventing four other minors from leaving the islands. Five individuals, including a minor, were arrested following five searches in Gran Canaria. The operation comes amid renewed discussions about migration in Europe, following a large influx of irregular migrants from Morocco to Ceuta last month.

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This was all with the aim of facilitating their departure from the islands, and then later transporting them to mainland Spain and France, where some are believed to have been sexually exploited.