Cablegate: Spainish Authorities Disrupt Chinese Human

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS MADRID 003251

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

DEPARTMENT PASS TO EUR/WE, G/TIP FOR JENNIFER DONNELLY,
CA/FPP

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KWMN PHUM PGOV SP
SUBJECT: SPAINISH AUTHORITIES DISRUPT CHINESE HUMAN
SMUGGLING RING

1. (U) On September 9, the Spanish National Police (SNP)
arrested 14 Chinese citizens, five of them women, in
connection with a human smuggling ring whose goal was to
transfer women from China to South Africa and the Western
Hemisphere for prostitution. The smuggling ring transferred
Chinese women to Spain, utilizing fraudulent passports and
false Shengen entry stamps. Once in Spain, they were held in
small apartments until they were transferred to Mexico,
Canada and South Africa in groups of four, three times a
week. During the course of the arrests, the SNP seized 14
fake passports (three from Hong Kong, four from Japan, five
from Singapore, one from Malaysia and one from Great
Britain), as well as three false entry and exit stamps from
Schengen border entry posts. The ring reportedly received
regular payments via courier, estimated to exceed EUR 150,000
(195,000 USD) over the past several months, from sources in
China to cover expenses associated with the transfer of the
women. Once transferred, the women were forced to work in
manual labor or prostitution to repay their debt, estimated
to be approximately EUR 20,000 (26,000 USD).

2. (SBU) Poloff spoke with Carlos Botran, Chief of the
Immigration Networks Office at the General Directorate of
Police, about the smuggling arrests. Botran stated that the
GOS had received information about the smuggling ring from
Interpol Pretoria. He said that the women were smuggled into
Spain via Africa, entering Spain at the North African
enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla. From Spain, they were going
to be sent to Mexico for eventual entry into the United
States. In regard to the women arrested, Botran said that
one of the female detainees was a member of the organization,
while the other four were victims. According to Botran, the
four victims were being held in detention as undocumented
immigrants, but the GOS recognized that they were victims and
were providing them with social services. Botran said that
the GOS was currently negotiating with the Government of
China to return the women to China within the forty day
detention limit established by Spanish law. However, Botran
said that if the women cooperated with Spanish authorities
and assisted in the investigation, it was possible that they
could be granted residency and remain in Spain, if they so
chose.
AGUIRRE

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