Officers of the National Police conducted a large-scale operation that dismantled a criminal group transporting minors from shelters in the Canary Islands to France. As a result, 11 people were arrested: nine in Lanzarote, one in Madrid, and another in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Four of them are already in custody on charges including membership in a criminal organization, document forgery, illegal movement of people, violation of family rights, concealment of crimes, and child pornography.
The investigation is ongoing, as not all missing children from the shelters have been found. Authorities in the Canary Islands note that there are currently around 300 open cases involving minors who have run away from care facilities. Exact numbers of the missing, and whether any were migrants, have not yet been disclosed.
The investigation was launched after a series of disappearances: from November 2024 to May 2025, fourteen children went missing from two shelters in Lanzarote and Gran Canaria. Police then began a search, suspecting there might be an organized scheme behind these incidents. In May, three minors accompanied by a Mauritanian citizen were stopped at Lanzarote airport as they tried to fly to Madrid without proper documents. During the check, it was discovered that one of the companions had pretended to be a teenager but was actually an adult. Both were arrested for document forgery and child abduction.
A transnational scheme and international connections
Further investigation revealed a complex network operating across several continents. Couriers based in Morocco were responsible for crossing borders, while individuals in Côte d’Ivoire (Costa de Marfil) handled the production of forged documents. In Spain itself, the group provided temporary housing and arranged the onward movement of children to France. During searches in Lanzarote, police seized a large number of documents, electronic devices, personal belongings, and cash.
Most arrests took place in Lanzarote, but the investigation goes beyond Spanish territory. Authorities are now working to trace every link in the criminal network, including in Morocco and France, where the search for possible accomplices continues. International partners are also involved in the operation.
Ongoing search and emerging challenges
At this stage, police attention is focused on the Spanish branch of the operation. However, to fully solve the case, investigators still need to understand how the network operated outside the country. Authorities stress that the top priority remains searching for and protecting the minors whose whereabouts are still unknown. Operation Tritón has become one of Spain’s largest crackdowns on such crimes in recent years.
