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Several arrested for forging contracts for young footballers in Ceuta to obtain residency in Spain

In an operation carried out by the National Police in Ceuta, five people have been arrested, including a woman, for their alleged involvement in a network of false contracts for foreign footballers to obtain residency in Spain. The investigation, which is still under investigation secret, suggests that those arrested were offering young South American footballers the possibility of studying and playing football in Spain. However, the access to the country was done with false documentation, passing them off as students in order to avoid immigration controls.

The operation, carried out in a house in the Hadú neighbourhood of Ceuta, also uncovered an even more delicate situation: five minors were hiding in the place at the time of the police intervention. The agents, some of them specially sent from Madrid, proceeded to transfer the young people and the detainees to the facilities of the Ceuta Police Headquarters in order to continue with the investigations and clarify the scope of this network.

According to sources close to the case, those involved were recruiting these young people through social networks, presenting them with the possibility of a career in Spanish football. In their publications, they offered a way for promising young South American footballers to come to Spain, pretending to be backed by a structure that would allow them to develop both academically and athletically. Through these promises, young athletes were convinced to move to the country in the hope of a new life, far from their homes and in search of a future in European football.

However, in order to enter the country without arousing suspicion, the network of alleged criminals used false documents identifying them as students. Once in Spain, these young people were not only in an irregular situation, but were completely at the mercy of the people who had brought them there.

The authorities consider the criminal group to have committed serious offences against the rights of foreign citizens and falsification of official documents, a particularly serious offence when used to breach immigration controls in Spain. The detainees are being questioned by the National Police to determine their level of involvement and whether there are more people involved in the network. It is suspected that they may have used this system to bring in other young people in similar situations, exposing them to conditions that bear little resemblance to the initial promises.

For their part, the minors located in the house were also taken to police headquarters to protect their safety while their exact relationship to the case and their possible role in the network is being investigated. The authorities have stated that their priority is the safety of these young people, in addition to investigating whether they were at risk or under coercion from the adults arrested.

The operation took place on Wednesday in a house in Cuesta Parisiana, in a suburb of Ceuta, and, according to eyewitnesses, was coordinated by several police units, including the Aliens Unit. The procedure is being carried out under the secrecy of summary proceedings, and further arrests or possible links of this network with other similar cases in the country are not ruled out. The investigation could shed more light on the methods used to recruit and transfer these young people to Spain and put in place legal mechanisms to protect other young footballers who may have been victims of a similar scheme.

This operation draws attention to the growing concern about the exploitation of the dreams of young foreign footballers who see Europe as a unique opportunity to develop professionally. However, the authorities have pledged to continue investigating and taking measures to prevent such cases from recurring, ensuring the safety and rights of those who arrive in search of a better life.