BARCELONA, Spain, Aug. 10 (UPI) -- Authorities in Spain and France say they have arrested dozens of people suspected of smuggling Chinese immigrants into Europe and the United States.
The two-year-old investigation culminated with the arrest of 51 people in Spain and 24 in France and the seizure of 81 fake passports from countries around Asia, the BBC reported Saturday.
Police also found three laptop computers, printers and 22 rubber stamps used to forge documents in the Barcelona homes of the alleged organizers of the operation, CNN reported.
Spanish police said migrants were charged more than $53,000 each and given instructions on how to avoid being noticed at borders.
Smugglers transported the migrants to the United States, Spain, France, Greece, Italy, Britain, Ireland and Turkey
Authorities said the migrants often end up forced to work long hours in harsh conditions or in prostitution.
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