An organized migrant smuggling network has been dismantled by Spanish police. By the hundreds, Nepalese migrants had to pay fortunes to get to Europe.
In Spain, nine people were arrested in Madrid and Las Palmas: they are suspected of belonging to a network involved in the trafficking of migrants from Nepal to Europe.
Police said those arrested had facilitated the fraudulent obtaining of Schengen visas for some 300 Nepalese migrantsSpain being their final destination.
Investigators stated that the network had charged migrants 15,000 euros for fraudulent visas issued in Nepal and India, where embassies and consulates are located.
According to police, the network had cooperated with companies in Europe and Nepal to issue fake visas allowing their holders to work, reside or study in the Schengen area for a period of 90 days.
Once in possession of fake visas, migrants could enter the EU via Poland or Malta where they stayed for a short period until the network offered them a transfer to Spain, where they were offered work in Indian restaurants, police said.
The network also helped migrants pass the tests necessary to obtain Spanish nationality by cooperating with language academies to provide answers to language tests or by falsifying test results.
