Two arrested for exploiting migrant workers in fast food outlet on Costa del Sol

The employees, who did not have papers, were allegedly having to work 10-12 hours a day, seven days a week, for a wage of just 500-600 euros per month

Eugenio Cabezas

Vélez-Málaga

Wednesday, 28 August 2024, 10:51 | Updated 10:58h.

Spanish police have arrested two men in Granada for allegedly exploiting migrant workers in fast food outlets, including one in Vélez-Málaga on the eastern strip of the Costa del Sol.

The Pakistani men, aged 31 and 35 - the oldest of whom has a police record - are accused of human trafficking for the purpose of labour exploitation, as well as crimes against workers' rights, illegal immigration, belonging to a criminal organisation and false documentation.

Police investigations began after they learnt that a businessman, a naturalised Spaniard but of Pakistani origin, was in charge of several fast food establishments, two of them in Granada city and a third in the Axarquía town of Vélez-Málaga in Malaga province.

Four Pakistani men were working in these premises, working 10-12 hours a day, seven days a week, for a salary of between 500-600 euros per month. None of these workers had residence or work permits, according to National Police sources.

The victims were recruited in other provinces among groups of Pakistanis via third parties, with the employer bearing the costs of the transfer. Several of the exploited workers told investigators of their vulnerable situation, as they had several family members in their country of origin and had contracted a debt of 10,000 euros with the mafias that had brought them to Europe.

The businessman, said to be the main person responsible for the offences, has not yet been located and those arrested are the people who had been put in charge of running the fast food establishments by the businessman. Those detained have already appeared before the courts.

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