Spanish police have arrested 69 people suspected of their involvement in a cybercriminal gang that used a bot network to sell immigration appointments.

The group allegedly hacked Spain’s online booking system and used automated software to bypass asylum system’s security measures designed to identify bots, and obtain “practically all” of the appointments throughout the country. The criminals then resold reservations (that are normally free) to foreigners seeking asylum or residency for a price ranging from €30 to €200.

The group used VPN software to conceal the IP addresses from which they operated, thus enabling them to make more reservations.

Police said intermediaries and lawyers and advisors had been aware of the “and the issues associated with it which caused problems for foreigners who, on many occasions, were in a very vulnerable and desperate situation”.

An investigation conducted by law enforcement authorities has led to the identification of 94 people allegedly involved in the cybercrime gang, 69 of which were arrested and 25 are under investigation.

The police carried out raids and arrested the four alleged leaders of the gang responsible in both Barcelona and Valencia. During the raids, police confiscated computer equipment and documents, and seized more than 200,000 euros in cash.