Father and son agree to extradition in people-trafficking investigation

A father and son who are wanted for questioning in Spain in relation to an alleged people-trafficking ring appeared yesterday before the Magistrates’ Court, where they agreed to be handed to Spanish authorities investigating the case.

Ahmed Salam, 58, and Hamza Salam, 27, both of Main Street, were remanded in custody and will be sent to Spain within the next 10 days.

Mr Salam and Mr Salam were arrested in Gibraltar last September on the strength of a European Arrest Warrant, along with a Moroccan national Mohammed Bakr, 31.

The arrests formed part of a larger investigation in which 47 people are alleged to have been involved in a people-trafficking network that used Gibraltar as a gateway into mainland Europe from Morocco.

The organisation is accused of using false information to secure short-term tourist visas for the UK which permitted travel into Gibraltar by ferry or plane but did not allow entry into Spain or the Schengen area.

According to police, the Moroccan migrants arrived in Gibraltar and were then sneaked across the border in cars late at night when immigration controls were minimal.

The ring is believed to have trafficked over 130 Moroccan nationals, each of whom is said to have paid between 7,000 and 8,000 euros in exchange for the trip.

These individuals then made their way to various provinces across Spain, as well as travelling to other nearby countries such as France, Belgium and Italy.

The European Arrest Warrant was served by Court Number 3 in La Linea.

On their first appearance before the Magistrates’ Court last October, the father and son did not consent to being sent to Spain for questioning.

Mr Bakr, however, did consent and was handed over to the Spanish authorities for questioning.

At an earlier court appearance, the men were bailed out with a surety of £8,000 and forfeited their travel documents while the investigations continued on both sides of the border.

After the news broke about the large-scale investigation on Sunday, which began in 2018 and involved over 200 police officers from the Royal Gibraltar Police and Spain’s Policia Nacional, the men consented to the extradition yesterday.

Speaking through an interpreter, Mr Salam and Mr Salam told the court they had been provided with legal advice and an interpreter throughout the proceedings.

The father and son accepted that they understood the consequences of consenting to the European Arrest Warrant and voluntarily agreed to be surrendered to Spanish authorities.

Stipendiary Magistrate Charles Pitto committed the two men to prison until the extradition order is carried out over the next 10 days.

Robert Fischel, QC, appeared for Mr Salam and Mr Salam, while Grace Anne Ghio appeared for the Crown.