SEF identifies six victims of human trafficking in the Algarve

Inspectors found that 24 foreign nationals were living in the same house

The Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) identified, this week, six victims of the crime of trafficking in human beings following a surveillance action in the western Algarve that sought to confirm the address of some foreign citizens.

According to the SEF, during the investigation, the inspectors found that 24 foreign citizens, of Hindustani origin, were staying in the same house, and they warned of the vulnerable situation of a group of five citizens who shared a room there.

It was found that these five citizens have been in Portugal for four months, holding work visas.

Confirming the signs of being victims of human trafficking, the immigrants were sent to Faro, where technicians from the Association for Family Planning (APF), belonging to a Specialized Multidisciplinary Team, interviewed them and flagged them as victims, having been guaranteed help and protection.

In view of the information collected, additional steps were taken that led to the location, yesterday, of a sixth citizen in the same conditions, who was also flagged as a victim and provided with the necessary humanitarian assistance.

According to the SEF, it was found that the six citizens were enticed in the country of origin with the promise of work in Portugal in agriculture, with the right to accommodation and subsequent legalization, by paying, for each immigrant, 13 thousand euros to a network of illegal immigration.

From the reports already obtained, it is known that these citizens had to resort to credit and help from family members to raise the necessary money.

Arriving in Portugal, they were taken to the Algarve and housed in the room of the identified house, with an additional payment of 140 euros per month for a mattress being required from them.

However, the promised employment relationship did not materialize, «citizens being enticed to buy employment contracts and pay their own contributions, and that of the employer, to Social Security in order to be able to meet the formal conditions for legalization in Portugal» , explains the SEF.

"The victims, not having the means to satisfy what was demanded of them, were abandoned to their fate, starting to live off the charity of the other tenants of the house", the statement also says.

Citizens were, however, questioned as witnesses and all the information was reported to the Public Prosecutor's Office and an investigation was opened for the commission of the crime of human trafficking.

Having established contact with the SEF Liaison Officer at the Portuguese Embassy in New Delhi, it was possible to gather additional information about the case, not neglecting the possibility that other citizens find themselves in the same situation. The SEF is now making efforts to locate it.

 



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