Spanish Police Rescue Woman After 2 Years of Farm Slavery, Arresting 3 Men
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jul 30
Spanish Police Rescue Woman After 2 Years of Farm Slavery, Arresting 3 Men
2 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jul 30
Summary
Castile and León police freed a 50-year-old Moroccan woman after a late-2023 tip led anti-trafficking officers and labor inspectors to a sheep farm where she was allegedly exploited for up to two years.
Nineteen-hour days, no pay after three €300 monthly payments, and threats of deportation kept her trapped, according to her account, while she lived without electricity, drinking water or proper sanitation in a shack.
Three men have been arrested on suspicion of human trafficking for labor exploitation, and a trial is expected in the coming months.
Adoratrices, a Catholic order that supports trafficking victims, helped her secure housing, work and legal status in Spain after the raid.
The case highlights how undocumented seasonal workers left behind after the 2020 pandemic visa disruptions can become highly vulnerable to coercion and abuse.