Overview
- The National Police say the case follows a probe opened in March 2025 that documented 12 trips with passengers lacking valid tickets or documents.
- Officers report drivers charged between €20 and €400 per person, with annual proceeds estimated around €50,000 and one trip showing a €100 payment.
- Investigators allege drivers used their roles on regular international lines to let migrants board without tickets or with tickets in other names.
- External recruiters negotiated payments and guided vulnerable migrants onto buses, sometimes using false or altered documents, according to police.
- The operation included information-sharing with French authorities and checks at La Junquera, Irún, Madrid, Barcelona and Murcia, with six Spanish drivers among those detained alongside nationals of France, Italy, Peru and Ukraine and all referred to Barcelona courts for the offense of facilitating irregular immigration.