Agents of the Women-Minor Team of the Civil Guard of Almeria (EMUME), has carried out the operation “ACCRA”, in which an investigation has been developed that has culminated in the arrest of a 33 year old woman, as the alleged perpetrator of the simulation of a crime of human trafficking.
At the beginning of January, the Guardia Civil launched an operation after receiving information about a possible victim of human trafficking. According to the information gathered, this woman had been subjected to sexual exploitation in a house located in the Region of Murcia and both she and her family in her country of origin had been threatened. The victim reported that she managed to escape with her current partner and took refuge in the town of Vélez-Rubio in Almería.
The Guardia Civil provided security for the victim, as is done with all alleged victims of this type of crime, with the aim of protecting her and preventing the organisation from finding her. In the specialised centre for this type of support services, the victim resides and receives Spanish classes, specialised psychological care and support in the search for employment.
During the phase of clarification of the alleged crime that had been committed against the victim, the Guardia Civil agents detected that her version was incongruent and did not coincide on several points with those of her sentimental partner. Finally, the couple admitted having convinced the other to lie in order to obtain legal residence in Spain. To achieve this, they invented a story that had occurred in their country and tried to obtain support from an NGO in the processing of their real intentions, although the NGO itself alerted them to the need to faithfully accredit any situation that they presented in their process.
Faced with the failure of her first attempt, the alleged victim allegedly simulated a human trafficking offence. This was allegedly encouraged by a friend who assured her that in this way she had obtained her documents in another European country.
Following the enquiries carried out by the Guardia Civil, several people who had contacts with the complainant in different locations were located. These people were able to prove that the alleged victim had been residing in a normal way without there being any circumstances that would suggest that she had been a victim of sexual exploitation.
Likewise, it was possible to verify that in other women’s assistance centres to which she had recourse, this woman presented different stories with the aim of achieving her goal, despite the fact that the workers of these centres always warned her that the only way to obtain legal residence status was to appeal to the truth, that any other option was to the detriment of the victims themselves.
As a result of this operation and thanks to the enquiries carried out, the Guardia Civil proceeded to the arrest of the alleged person for the simulation of a human trafficking offence. This investigation has not only made it possible to find out and put an end to the simulation of a crime and the filing of a false complaint, but it has also provided the opportunity to offer support and protection to the real victims of human trafficking, as well as to allocate police resources to dismantle organisations dedicated to this type of criminal activity. The proceedings and the person arrested have been handed over to the Duty Court of Vera.