Bandits from the East
30 minutes, 2006
Ref: 102tvc

This gripping report shows some of the main illegal Eastern European gangs at work in Spain, how they operate, and what police forces in Spain and abroad are doing to keep them in check. Over the last few years, illegal gangs from Eastern Europe have made spectacular inroads in Spain. Many of them have specialized in burglary, armed robbery, car theft, credit card forgery, and - the hot favorite - white slaving. A "30 Minuts" team travelled to Rumania and Bulgaria to discover from where these gangs spring. Their reporters were allowed into prisons in these countries to talk to criminals who had made a name for themselves in Spain. The convicts see Spain as a happy hunting ground. A Bulgarian pimp currently doing time in a Sofia prison lays it on the line: "Spain is the place to work. Prostitution, armed theft - you name it - you've got a free hand. The Spanish police cut deals too". The gangs - up to 540 - working in Spain are small, but bigger crime syndicates are beginning to emerge. These are mainly white slaving operations with prostitution now big business. A girl told us the score: "You can make €15,000 to €20,000 euros a month, no sweat, and send €300 to €500 home each month. The pimps keep the rest". She had fallen into the clutches of the prostitution network in her native Rumania, when she accepted a bogus job as a "waitress" in Spain. But not only foreigners commit these crimes. A Bulgarian car thief, who was caught in Barcelona and is now doing time back home, spilt the beans: "Spaniards call all the shots. They run the show-order the thefts, handle the money, the cars, everything".