Couple arrested in Vélez-Málaga for exploiting foreign workers in nail salons across Andalucía

Two people have been arrested in Vélez-Málaga for allegedly exploiting the rights of foreign workers. The suspects are based in the Axarquía but originally from Vietnam. According to National Police sources, they were exploiting other Vietnamese people in the network of beauty and beauty centres that they ran across Andalucía.

The investigation was carried out as part of a special operation investigating human trafficking for the purpose of labour exploitation and crimes related to workers' rights. It began in Algeciras when officers learned that staff working in the Vietnamese nails chain; migrants originally from Vietnam who were being exploited and did not have the correct work permits.

"This illegal practice generates a situation of special vulnerability in migrants, encouraging labour exploitation with low or no pay without legally established labour rights," the national police explained in a statement on Wednesday 29 March. Initially, the victims are forced to accept situation is offered to them and they are unable to then leave the job, as they have no other way of earning a living or of paying off the debts incurred by their journey to Spain.

They are forced to accept long working hours, with hardly any rest and for "a salary far below what is considered decent in a developed country". The police also pointed out that this type of illegal activity "causes great harm to society and the public interest, as it encourages a black market and perverts free market competition among small and medium-sized enterprises".

In the final phase of the investigation, various inspections were carried out in Malaga city, Benalmádena, Torre del Mar and Nerja, as well as in establishments in Algeciras and Seville. In total, twenty workers were identified, most of them of Vietnamese origin. The case is being heard at a court in Algeciras.

The National Police has an active telephone number: 900 10 50 90 and email trata@policia.es for anyone to report suspected cases of human trafficking. The phone number and email are free, confidential and managed directly by specialised agents. Members of the public reporting suspected cases of human trafficking through the telephone number and email address has been key in police investigations since 2013.