(Almería) A criminal gang, operating in Almería and dedicated to smuggling in illegal immigrants from the Ukraine has been cracked by the Policia Nacional.

All told, 24 people were arrested during the three phases of the police operation. The gang had been processing 30 immigrants a week, making them pass for Ukrainian tourists, furnishing them with false hotel reservations, a credible amount of cash for a holiday stay and tourist visas issue in Poland.

However, Almería was not the final destination as the immigrants were destined to be moved all over Europe by road from Spain, thanks to the Schengen, open-border system.

(News: Almeria, Andalucia)