Sixteen arrested in Lanzarote for using foreign workers with no permits or papers
The National Police have arrested 16 people in Lanzarote, including two construction company bosses, for running an illegal scheme that exploited foreign workers who did not have the legal right to work in Spain.
The investigation, known as Operación Bordillo, was carried out jointly by the police and Spain’s Labour and Social Security Inspectorate after officers uncovered a setup in which foreign workers were made to pretend to be other people who were legally registered, using false documents.
Why is working without papers illegal?
In Spain, and throughout the EU, anyone who is not an EU citizen must have official permission to live and work in the country, which includes Brits since Brexit. This normally means holding a residence permit and a work permit.
Without these documents:
- The worker is not protected by labour laws.
- Employers can pay unfair wages or ignore safety rules.
- No taxes or Social Security contributions are paid.
- It gives companies an illegal advantage over legitimate businesses.
For these reasons, employing workers “off the books” or without the correct papers is a crime that can lead to serious fines for both the employer and the worker, and in some cases deportation for the worker.
How the scheme operated
The investigation began in October when work inspectors suspected that a building company was using undocumented workers. The company allegedly gave subcontractors lists of legitimate employees but sent different workers to the construction sites, foreign nationals with no work permits.
These workers were forced to memorise the identity details (names, NIE numbers, even parents’ names) of the people they were pretending to be. During inspections, several could not remember the details correctly, exposing the fraud.
The company allegedly used the same identity for multiple workers across different sites, allowing it to avoid paying Social Security and pocket illegal profits.
Island-wide inspections
On 4th November, the police and labour inspectors carried out surprise inspections at five major construction sites in Arrecife, Yaiza, San Bartolomé and Teguise.
They identified 14 foreign workers using false identities. All were arrested for identity fraud.
Twelve of them had no residence permit, and none had authorisation to work. The two company owners were arrested for identity theft, falsifying documents and exploiting workers. The investigation is still ongoing.
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