The Involvement of Third Parties in Criminal Organizations and the Legal Consequences in Spain

Criminal organisations can be large hierarchical structures in which there is usually a top-level decision-maker and numerous individuals who comprise the organisation's workforce. However, on multiple occasions, we find individuals who, without being strictly speaking members of criminal organisations, orbit around them. On many occasions, without belonging to the organisational or criminal structure, however, and on most occasions without being aware of it or intending to do so, they nourish the criminal organisation and contribute to its progression or growth. Many criminal groups operating in America, Africa or Asia, to complete their criminal activities in Europe, make use of third parties who, whether forced, out of necessity or even out of a sense of justice, constitute the last link in the great chain that is the cycle of activity of the criminal organisation. This situation can be found, for example, in the cases of victims of trafficking who are exploited as mules to ingest drugs and bring them into Spain, victims of trafficking who collaborate with their traffickers either by monitoring and controlling other victims or by recruiting new victims to continue the line of exploitation, or private individuals who are the last step in the migratory process and collaborate (altruistically or for payment) in the process of smuggling migrants. The response of the Spanish legal system to these situations will allow us to know to what extent these third parties are considered members of the organisation and are liable as such or are subject to any attenuation or exemption from liability.