On February 6, the National Police dismantled a criminal organization that exploited 12 workers forced to work without rest in several bread makers of the province of Palencia.
The operation to dismantle this plot of human trafficking, irregular economy and Social Security fraud was carried out thanks to the close collaboration with the Labour and Social Security Inspectorate of Palencia.
The investigation, initiated last June, had detected irregularities in several workers located in the Palentine towns of Aguilar de Campoo and Ampudia.
On February 3, inspection visits were carried out, in coordination with agents of the National Police, simultaneously, to the two work centers investigated, dedicated to the bakery sector. These visits were made at night, starting at 24 hours and lasting 5 hours each.
According to the police, the victims They worked between 10 and 17 hours a day And they carried out their work in extreme conditions of heat and unwholesomeness, with temperatures higher than 40 degrees and serious hygienic-sanitary deficiencies in the bread workers. As a result of the action, there are two detainees.
The Alleged Crime of Human Trafficking It consists of the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, using the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, the abuse of power or a situation of vulnerability or the granting or receipt of payments or benefits to obtain the consent of a person having authority over another, for the purpose of exploitation. In this case, the victims of this criminal network were asked for financial amounts that, in some cases, reached the victims. 20,000 euros.
As a result of these actions, the Labour and Social Security Inspectorate practiced several Minutes of infringement in the field of aliens And it has open investigations, still in progress, in the field of prevention of occupational risks.
