Authorities in Spain have dismantled a trafficking scheme that used the pretense of unaccompanied minors to gain entry from Melilla and move toward the mainland. In recent weeks, dozens of Moroccan migrants who reached the North African city irregularly claimed to be minors and sought asylum as a way to secure more stable movement into Spain and beyond toward wider European routes. The operation highlights the ongoing challenges authorities face when vulnerable individuals are placed at risk by organized networks that exploit asylum policies for easier transit. [attribution: High Police Headquarters]
The investigation began after three young men were arrested for falsifying documents by representing themselves as unaccompanied foreign minors. Their goal was to obtain asylum documentation and then travel across the country to reach the peninsula. The arrests triggered a broader inquiry into how such claims are manufactured, processed, and used to facilitate movements that bypass standard checks. [attribution: High Police Headquarters]
Information from Melilla’s Minors Group and the Center for Minor Protection served as a catalyst for the inquiry. Officials reported numerous cases where residents seeking asylum carried receipts for their applications, often showing altered or misrepresented birth dates and ages. This pattern suggested coordinated efforts to rely on protected status to access resources and routes that would otherwise be closed to adults. [attribution: High Police Headquarters]
Investigators described a meticulous, wide-ranging effort to cross-check documents against facial features and other identifiers. Since the start of the year, several dozen adult foreign nationals have been linked to the Center for the Protection of Minors and have used foster care programs and related resources intended for genuine unaccompanied minors. The case underscores the tension between safeguarding vulnerable youths and preventing abuse of protective services. [attribution: High Police Headquarters]
According to authorities, some youths reached Melilla by irregular means, sometimes at dawn or by swimming, and presented themselves as underage to officers. After the initial screening, these individuals were sent to the Minor Protection Center. They actively resisted age-verification procedures, attempting to obscure their true ages in order to secure admission under government arrangements designed to shield minors. [attribution: High Police Headquarters]
Subsequently, the individuals pursued asylum through intermediaries who coordinated travel logistics. Passports were reportedly diverted through third parties, enabling the counterfeit minors to depart Melilla for the mainland about a month after the initial asylum requests. Investigators continue to pursue leads to identify others involved in similar practices and to hold those responsible for document falsification accountable. [attribution: High Police Headquarters]