Area of defence · Navarra & all of Spain
Defence in human trafficking cases
Very serious charges, almost always inside mega-cases with an international dimension, wiretaps and dozens of defendants. A field where my profile — a mega-case defence lawyer working in four languages — makes the difference.
What the trafficking offence punishes
Article 177 bis of the Spanish Criminal Code punishes the recruitment, transport, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons — through violence, intimidation, deception or abuse of a situation of need or vulnerability — for purposes of exploitation: sexual, labour, begging or the commission of crimes. Base penalties run from five to eight years, aggravated by organisation, danger to the victim or official capacity.
It is a complex offence: it requires concrete means of commission and a proven purpose of exploitation. Not every irregular migration situation nor every job in poor conditions is trafficking — and keeping those boundaries from blurring is precisely the role of a technical defence.
Mega-cases with rules of their own
These cases are investigated for years, with wiretaps, international police cooperation and protected witnesses. The defence demands individualising each defendant's position — what concrete act is attributed, on what evidence —, reviewing the lawfulness of intercepts and searches, and policing the guarantees around protected witnesses' testimony, whose adversarial safeguards are not always respected.
My experience in criminal-organisation cases and mega-trials, plus direct communication with clients in English, Spanish, Romanian and Russian, is especially valuable in this field.
How I work these cases
- Individualised defence inside the mega-case: your position, your evidence, your strategy.
- Review of the lawfulness of intercepts, searches and international cooperation.
- Policing the guarantees around protected witnesses' testimony.
- Defence against pre-trial detention — usual in these cases — and its appeals.
- Direct communication with the client and their family in their language, in liberty or in prison.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions in trafficking cases
What is the difference between human trafficking and migrant smuggling?
Trafficking requires means of commission (violence, deception, abuse of vulnerability) and a purpose of exploitation, and is a crime even if no border is crossed. Migrant smuggling punishes facilitating irregular entry or transit, without that exploitation element. They are different offences with very different penalties — and drawing that line is the key to the defence.
Why are these cases almost always mega-cases?
Because the prosecution usually builds them around an organisation: long investigations, wiretaps, several countries and dozens of defendants. The greatest risk is generalisation — attributing to everyone what a few did. The defence consists in precisely individualising your position.
What role do protected witnesses play?
Their statements are often central evidence, and the law allows their identity to be shielded. But that protection has limits: the defence keeps the right to challenge and cross-examine, and convictions cannot rest solely on anonymous testimony without corroboration. Watching over those guarantees is an essential part of the job.
My relative is being held in another province in a trafficking case — can you take it?
Yes: I act throughout Spain, and these cases are often investigated far from the family's home — frequently at the Audiencia Nacional or in other regions. I travel, attend the statements and keep the family informed in their own language.
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