In a cross-border operation dubbed ‘Tritón’, Spain’s National Police have arrested eleven people accused of smuggling unaccompanied minors out of Canary Islands reception centres and onward to France. Four suspects are now in pre-trial detention on charges that include human-trafficking, document forgery and child-pornography offences.
The investigation began after 14 minors disappeared from state-run shelters between November 2024 and May 2025. Police say the criminal ring had links in Morocco and Côte d’Ivoire that procured forged passports. Once in mainland Spain, the children were housed briefly in Madrid safe-houses before being transported across the Pyrenees, often in private vehicles to evade border checks. Payments were allegedly funnelled through cryptocurrency wallets to obscure the money trail.
![Spanish Police Dismantle Network Trafficking Minors from Canary Shelters to France]()
The case underscores the security dimension of Spain’s migration surge. The Canary route, already Europe’s busiest for irregular sea arrivals, now faces the added challenge of protecting minors from trafficking networks that exploit overcrowded facilities and slow relocation to mainland regions.
For mobility professionals, the incident may trigger tighter ID checks for minors travelling domestically, potentially affecting corporate travel involving school trips or expatriate families. The Interior Ministry is reviewing shelter-transfer protocols and plans to deploy biometric enrolment kits at reception centres to track departures in real time.
Spanish and French authorities are cooperating to locate the missing children and to dismantle associated cells. Europol has been asked to assist with digital-forensics analysis of seized phones and laptops, suggesting further arrests could follow.
The investigation began after 14 minors disappeared from state-run shelters between November 2024 and May 2025. Police say the criminal ring had links in Morocco and Côte d’Ivoire that procured forged passports. Once in mainland Spain, the children were housed briefly in Madrid safe-houses before being transported across the Pyrenees, often in private vehicles to evade border checks. Payments were allegedly funnelled through cryptocurrency wallets to obscure the money trail.
The case underscores the security dimension of Spain’s migration surge. The Canary route, already Europe’s busiest for irregular sea arrivals, now faces the added challenge of protecting minors from trafficking networks that exploit overcrowded facilities and slow relocation to mainland regions.
For mobility professionals, the incident may trigger tighter ID checks for minors travelling domestically, potentially affecting corporate travel involving school trips or expatriate families. The Interior Ministry is reviewing shelter-transfer protocols and plans to deploy biometric enrolment kits at reception centres to track departures in real time.
Spanish and French authorities are cooperating to locate the missing children and to dismantle associated cells. Europol has been asked to assist with digital-forensics analysis of seized phones and laptops, suggesting further arrests could follow.
