Spanish authorities arrest two businessmen for Moroccan seasonal worker exploitation

Spanish authorities have arrested two businessmen in Mallorca on charges of being part of a criminal network involved in promoting irregular migration and exploiting Moroccan seasonal workers, local media reported.

The arrested men, who own an agricultural company in Mallorca, are accused of facilitating the recruitment of Moroccan workers to Spain by charging them between 15,000 and 22,000 euros for work contracts.

The Immigration and Regional Borders Brigade of the Spanish National Police in the Balearic Islands found that the money collected was divided between the two Spanish nationals and another individual responsible for recruiting workers in Morocco.

Investigations revealed that the defendants also extorted additional payments from the workers, ranging from 6,000 to 8,000 euros, for help with legalizing their status in Spain. In total, 26 workers were victimized by this criminal network, which faces charges of human trafficking and labor exploitation.

Spanish media reported that due to accumulating debts and the need to maintain their employment and residency status in Spain, the Moroccan workers were forced to accept poor working conditions that violated labor agreements.

Khalid Mouna, a migration expert, told Hespress that “the trafficking of work contracts abroad is not limited to Spain but also affects several European countries, including Italy and France, and is managed by specialized networks with connections in both the origin and destination countries that certify these contracts.”

“This issue has been highlighted in various journalistic investigations,” Mouna said, adding that “these networks target individuals who can pay substantial amounts for work contracts in foreign countries, representing a less-discussed form of migration due to challenges in field investigations.”

Mouna also noted that while the exploitation of Moroccan agricultural workers under these contracts is not new, some European officials have argued that halting these contracts could negatively impact regions dependent on foreign agricultural labor. He criticized Moroccan authorities for their lack of intervention and defense of workers’ rights abroad, suggesting they view the issue as a fleeting media concern with limited impact.