Spanish law enforcement has intervened to stop the labor exploitation of more than 50 Romanian citizens who had come to Spain seeking work based on deceptive job offers, only to end up in what amounted to forced labor.
A total of 52 Romanians were freed from forced labor in fruit orchards in Andalusia, where they had been lured by fraudulent job advertisements.
The perpetrators, also Romanian citizens, posted job ads promising free transport, high wages, and good living conditions in the fruit orchards.
In reality, upon arrival, the workers had their documents confiscated, were housed in squalid shacks, and were told they would have to pay for their accommodation and transport. They were paid meager amounts for their labor.
There were also reports of workers being beaten for attempting to challenge their treatment or file complaints with authorities.
The police intervention came after one of the workers managed to escape and reported the situation.
During the raid, authorities fired the 52 workers and arrested six Romanian organizers of the “business.”
