Spanish police smash sub-Saharan human trafficking ring

MADRID – Spanish police said Friday they have dismantled a major human-trafficking organization that smuggled Africans into Europe.

The gang is suspected of bringing around 1,000 people, including children and pregnant women, from sub-Saharan Africa to Spain. From there, they were distributed between France, Germany and Belgium, a police statement said.

Each smuggled person had to pay the gang at least 500 euros ($566).

The ring was organized out of Spain’s Catalonia region and run mostly by sub-Saharan Africans.

The police operation, involving authorities from Spain, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Portugal, led to the arrest of 12 people.