Portuguese maritime police at one of two sites where hundreds of human trafficking victims, mostly migrants from Southeast Asia, were found near Portugal's capital Lisbon, in Samouco, Portugal, June 21, 2023.
REUTERS/Miguel Pereira/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLISBON, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Hundreds of police raided farms in Portugal's southern Alentejo region on Tuesday, arresting 28 people suspected of human trafficking and labour exploitation, police said.
Those detained, both Portuguese and foreign nationals, are suspected of human trafficking, criminal association, aiding illegal immigration, illegal labour recruitment, extortion, money laundering and exerting physical harm, among other crimes.
Cases of labour exploitation, when poor migrants are trapped in unpaid work, and human trafficking have been growing in Portugal, particularly in the agricultural sector.
The Council of Europe has reported that Portuguese authorities identified 1,152 suspected victims of trafficking in 2016-2020, but the number of investigations, prosecutions and convictions was low for such a large number.
Persons:
Miguel Pereira, Patrícia Vicente Rua, Andrei Khalip, Nick Macfie
Organizations:
Portuguese, REUTERS, Rights, Police, of, Thomson
Locations:
Southeast Asia, Portugal's, Lisbon, Samouco, Portugal, Rights LISBON, Alentejo, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, India, Senegal, Pakistan, of Europe