Migrants exploited collecting chili peppers in Elche for 60 cents per kilo

According to sources familiar with the investigation, the Alicante National Police have arrested five individuals in Elche who are accused of exploiting immigrants’ labour on farms in the Elche municipality. The individuals were employed in nine-hour shifts without a contract and were compensated between four and six euros per hour for picking fruit and vegetables or 60 cents per kilogramme of chilli peppers.

The operation was conducted by Group III of the Unit against Immigration Networks and Document Forgery (UCRIF) of the Alicante Immigration Brigade. The group identified the labour exploitation and contacted the Labour Inspectorate to conduct an operation in Elche. Officers from the National Police Unit assigned to the Valencian Community also participated.

The five detainees, who are initially from Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, and Morocco, are aged 36 to 60. Two of the individuals detained had prior convictions for comparable offences and were subsequently brought before a court in Elche.

The suspects’ possession of two vans for the transportation of the labourers and a third, larger van for the transportation of the collected merchandise was disclosed by the National Police investigation. Several of the workers resided in the Torrevieja region and were transported to Elche, while others slept on one of the properties, which included a small structure with unsanitary conditions, according to the police investigation.

Officers observed approximately 25 individuals working from seven in the morning to six in the evening during surveillance conducted prior to the arrests.

Officers conducted an assault on a ten-hectare farm in Elche during the operation’s exploitation phase. Twelve of the approximately 30 workers on the farm boarded a nine-seat van at six o’clock in the evening. The police intercepted the vehicle and discovered that eleven immigrants from India, Senegal, Pakistan, Morocco, and Algeria were unlawfully present in Spain.

Individuals in custody

Five individuals were apprehended as a consequence of the operation. One of them was the superintendent of the farm and the dreadful accommodation where the migrants slept. He was accused of promoting illegal immigration and violating labourers’ rights. Additionally, he was charged with an environmental crime, as the police investigation revealed that the warehouse contained prohibited phytosanitary products and other products that lacked environmental protection.

Three foremen and the individual responsible for conveying the vegetables were among the remaining four individuals apprehended. The police apprehended two individuals who were responsible for the recruitment of labourers and their transportation to Elche in vans.

The workdays were approximately ten hours in duration, with a one-hour respite. Food and water were not provided to the labourers; they were required to transport them. Transportation to the property from Torrevieja cost them each six euros.

The wages of the labourers were contingent upon the quantity of chilli peppers they harvested, with a rate of 60 cents per kilogramme. In addition, they were compensated in accordance with their schedule and received a meagre wage of four to six euros for the harvesting of melons or other commodities, in the absence of an employment contract or Social Security registration. According to the National Police, certain employees reported experiencing vertigo during the primary work hours, which was deemed “abusive.”