A court in the Canary Islands ordered the closure of an unaccompanied immigrant children's centre and allegations include physical abuse, hate crimes and threats.

On Monday, police cars drove to the heart of the outskirts of Las Palmas, Canada, and entered a facility where 43 children were placed. A court on the island, the first in Spain to specifically target children and adolescent violence, said police allegedly committed crimes against the center “in light of extensive evidence and testimony.”

At least nine employees were detained for several hours, and further arrests were not excluded, officials said. However, few provide additional details as the court said it had ordered a secret investigation.

The court added in a statement that regional authorities have been notified to ensure that they can take the necessary measures to ensure the well-being and protection of children living in the centre”.

In recent years, people who have turned to the sinister Canary Islands route have risen, one of the most dangerous crossings to enter Europe, and riding in unstable ships is often not suitable for facing the fierce currents of the Atlantic Ocean.

The surge in arrivals includes thousands of unaccompanied children, prompting Canary Islands officials to repeatedly say the area is overwhelmed.

In March, the region was responsible for about 37% of unaccompanied children arriving in Spain.

A recent survey by Amnesty International highlighted the network of these islands for over 80 centres composed of unaccompanied children, including employees who lack proper training, such as "nightclub bouncing men" who, in some cases, have been hired as employee centers.

The group said it also documented allegations of abuse, including excessive punishment for forcing children to isolate or deprive food. "These situations are unacceptable: Let's remember the children we are talking about, they often arrive in very vulnerable situations," the organization's Virginia Álvarez said in a statement.

She said many children fled from survivors of human rights violations or violence and trauma, and now everyone is struggling to cope with their future uncertainty and anxiety.

For more than a year, Spanish politics has been struggling to address who is responsible for these children, which has brought the Canary Islands regional governments to the central government. Earlier this year, the Spanish central government announced a mandatory plan that would force all over the country to help take over the children and face tensions with some areas led by the Conservative BJP.

Amnesty International said the blame was on various governments after a survey released in March, with Canary Islands officials conducting 28 inspections of the children's centres in five years to the central government and areas that refuse to unite.

"The failure of the protection system in the Canary Islands is a shared responsibility. They continue to hand over the bucks to each other, so children still do not have enough protection."