Hundreds of Portuguese police raid farms in human trafficking crackdown

FILE PHOTO: Portuguese maritime police at one of two sites where hundreds of human trafficking victims, mostly migrants from Southeast Asia, were found near Portugal's capital Lisbon, in Samouco, Portugal, June 21, 2023. REUTERS/Miguel Pereira/File Photo

LISBON (Reuters) - Hundreds of police raided farms in Portugal's southern Alentejo region on Tuesday, arresting 28 people suspected of human trafficking and labour exploitation, police said.

The suspects are believed to be part of a crime ring that exploited migrants from countries including Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, India, Senegal and Pakistan after luring them to Portugal with a promise of a job as farmhands.