A balanced and moving podcast with a real sting in the tail.
"Spain has a history of squatting.
After the property crash of 2008 many families were forced to occupy homes that did not belong to them because they could not pay their mortgages.
Now a darker side to ‘okupacion’ has emerged.
Organised crime has seen an opportunity. Some flats in Barcelona have become ‘narcopisos’ - properties used to process or sell drugs.
Other empty properties have been ‘sub-let’ by gangs to families who cannot afford a commercial rent. And the pandemic has spawned a new commercial model – extortion.
These are cases where squatters occupy a property and demand a ‘ransom’ from the owner of several thousand Euros before they will leave.
Enter the controversial ‘desokupa’ companies – firms run by boxers and bouncers who will evict unwanted 'tenants'."
Producer / Presenter: Linda Pressly
Producer / Presenter in Spain: Esperanza Escribano
Editor: Bridget Harney
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