Catalonia’s regional police (*Mossos d’Esquadra*) have detained a 42-year-old woman in Barcelona accused of escorting unaccompanied Somali teenagers into the European Union using genuine Schengen passports borrowed from look-alike youths. The arrest took place on 20 November but was made public on 29 November after a court lifted reporting restrictions.
Investigators say the minors paid about US$10,000 each to criminal facilitators who flew them to Barcelona-El Prat airport, where the suspect provided lodging and onward tickets to Sweden or Finland. When the initial chaperone disappeared, the detainee allegedly stepped in to shepherd the boys until departure. The children have been placed in protective care under Catalonia’s child-protection services.
![Barcelona police arrest woman linked to network smuggling Somali minors via Spain to Scandinavia]()
The case mirrors a wider trend of “family-reunion by proxy,” where traffickers exploit Schengen’s internal-flight leniency once an external border has been cleared. Europol warns that passport recycling involving minors is surging, with 1,200 such incidents recorded EU-wide in 2025—double last year’s figure.
Companies moving staff through Barcelona should expect periodic identity-verification blitzes at El Prat and secondary stations such as Girona, potentially extending queues during the busy holiday period. Duty-of-care protocols should include extra time for document checks and clear instructions on safeguarding corporate travel IDs.
Investigators say the minors paid about US$10,000 each to criminal facilitators who flew them to Barcelona-El Prat airport, where the suspect provided lodging and onward tickets to Sweden or Finland. When the initial chaperone disappeared, the detainee allegedly stepped in to shepherd the boys until departure. The children have been placed in protective care under Catalonia’s child-protection services.
The case mirrors a wider trend of “family-reunion by proxy,” where traffickers exploit Schengen’s internal-flight leniency once an external border has been cleared. Europol warns that passport recycling involving minors is surging, with 1,200 such incidents recorded EU-wide in 2025—double last year’s figure.
Companies moving staff through Barcelona should expect periodic identity-verification blitzes at El Prat and secondary stations such as Girona, potentially extending queues during the busy holiday period. Duty-of-care protocols should include extra time for document checks and clear instructions on safeguarding corporate travel IDs.
