The Civil Guard has arrested three people in Valencia as responsible for what they have described as two “human farms”, apartments in which they held their victims in precarious living conditions. The gang located vulnerable people from whom they took their documentation in order to control their bank accounts and even access their homes.
Among those arrested are two detained men – aged 30 and 35 – and a woman – aged 30 -. The Civil Guard attributes the crimes of extortion to all of them, money laundering and membership in a criminal organization.
As reported by the Civil Guard in a statement, the organization – which operated mainly in the Valencian regions of L’Horta and La Ribera – recruited people in vulnerable situations and who received some type of benefit, such as pensions or public aid. Those now detained had their documentation stolen and were forcibly detained in inhumane conditions in two homes in Torrent (Valencia).
The organization controlled seven people. I was looking for people with addiction problems. and serious psychological limitations. Most of them had no family or had distanced themselves from them, or were even close to destitution. According to the armed institute, they beat them and abused their mental disabilities to make them sign authorization and representation documents with which the criminal group managed to obtain up to 11 high-end vehicles.
The ringleader of the plot chose his victims and threatened them with a firearm or beat them into submission while his spouse moved the money between various bank accounts. The first information was discovered during the eviction of some occupied homes in Monserrat. The agents found several vulnerable people in one of the occupied apartments, living in terrible conditions. After taking the statement, the agents began the investigation that has lasted for around two months.
The arrest occurred on the 7th, by Citizen Security agents and the Reserve and Security Group, with the support of a dog from the Cynological Service, who carried out two searches in the town of Torrentwhere the arrests were made. Also that day, the seven people who were detained and who required health care were released, so they were transferred to the social services of the Torrent City Council, where they received the first medical and social assistance.
During the search, the agents also seized numerous documentation related to the victims. A short firearm has also been found that they would have used to extort money from their victims and hold them in those homes against their will.
The proceedings were delivered to the Court of First Instance and Instruction number 1 of Picassent, before which the detainees appeared and were released.
