Portugal and Spain bust family human trafficking ring that enslaved vulnerable workers for up to 30 years

The operation and arrests

Portuguese Polícia Judiciária (PJ) and Spain's Guardia Civil, with coordination from EUROJUST, dismantled a family-run human trafficking network in Operation Mãos Livres (Free Hands). Arrests took place on 23 and 29 June 2026, resulting in five Portuguese nationals detained: three in Burgos, Spain, and two in Portugal. The suspects are accused of trafficking people for labour exploitation.

“The operation, carried out in two phases in the Burgos area, targeted a family-based group that for years recruited vulnerable people in Portugal – those with economic hardship and in social exclusion.”

How the trafficking scheme worked

The network operated for decades between central Portugal, particularly the Coimbra region, and rural Burgos. It lured people with promises of work and pay, then transferred them to Spain. Once there, victims were controlled, housed in deplorable conditions, and coerced into agricultural labour without rest.

Crucially, the traffickers registered victims in the Spanish social security system to draft fake employment contracts. This gave them access to the workers' wages and social benefits, and they also opened bank accounts and registered vehicles in the victims' names to obscure the scheme. Police said the group "kept the victims controlled, living in deplorable housing and food conditions, under constant coercion."

The victims' ordeal

Two men were rescued in March 2025 during the operation's first phase. The older victim, now 63, had been enslaved for 30 years. He was locked in an annex secured with a padlock, isolated from all news (he did not know who the president was), and worked every day on farmland. Over three decades, he accumulated only €40 in his bank account. When rescued, he told investigators he wanted to eat french fries. The second victim, aged 53, had been held for 15 years.

“The older victim was even traded between members of the group as if he were a commodity.”

Both men have since been returned to Portugal and are in a care institution for trafficking victims.

Legal proceedings and evidence

Following the 2025 rescue, the investigation continued, leading to the June arrests. The three suspects detained in Spain, aged 32–35, were brought before the Audiencia Nacional in Madrid for extradition to Portugal. The two detained in Portugal, aged 54 and 56 (one with prior convictions for similar crimes), will appear in court for pre-trial measures. Authorities seized bank balances, documentation, and two properties.

International cooperation and scale

The PJ believes the network may have victimized dozens more. The use of social security registrations allowed it to evade Spanish authorities for years. EUROJUST facilitated the EU arrest warrants issued by a Coimbra court.