Five arrested for migrant trafficking between Ceuta and La Línea charging up to €9,000 per person
The National Police dismantles two networks that transported migrants by boat from Ceuta to the mainland. Five arrested and one speedboat seized.
Two networks dismantled for illegal migrant trafficking from Ceuta to the mainland coast
The National Police have arrested five people after dismantling two organisations engaged in illegal migrant trafficking between Ceuta and the Iberian Peninsula, according to ABC. Those under investigation used shallow-draught vessels to clandestinely transport people in irregular situations, charging up to €9,000 per journey and placing the safety of those on board at serious risk.
First organisation: network between Ceuta and La Línea de la Concepción
The first investigation was activated following the discovery of a speedboat stranded on a rocky outcrop in the coastal area of Benzú, in Ceuta. Inspection of the vessel revealed damage consistent with high-speed navigation, leading officers to conclude that it had been recently used for this type of activity.
The organisation operated between Ceuta and La Línea de la Concepción. It used support vehicles to discreetly transport migrants to the boarding point, deliberately avoiding areas monitored by police. Those picked up were people in irregular situations from mass swimming incursions, who remained housed in residential properties, garages or other waiting locations until the time of transfer. For this service, the organisation demanded around €9,000 per person.
The operation concluded with the arrest of four people—two in Ceuta and two in La Línea de la Concepción—and the seizure of the speedboat used in the transfers.
Second investigation: seven migrants adrift for five hours in the Strait
The second operation focused on a man identified as the organiser of a crossing carried out on 14 August. That night, seven people were transported from Ceuta to the mainland coast in a vessel barely five metres in length and two metres in beam, with no safety measures whatsoever.
The occupants were intercepted at around 04:00 hours on El Burgo beach, in La Línea de la Concepción, after having spent five hours at sea and travelled approximately 40 kilometres from Ceuta. During the crossing, thick fog hampered navigation and considerably reduced the chances of being located by other vessels in case of emergency.
Conditions on board were extremely dangerous: the migrants were crowded together, without life jackets, without adequate signalling or rescue equipment, and wearing wet clothes that aggravated the overnight cold. Several of those on board had little or no swimming ability. The vessel even became adrift in the Strait of Gibraltar.
From this single journey with seven passengers, the organiser obtained a profit of €56,000, at the rate of €8,000 per person.
Remanded in custody
The man arrested in the second investigation has been remanded in provisional custody, accused of an offence against the rights of foreign nationals. Investigators are also examining the possible presence of aggravating circumstances relating to profit motive, the particularly vulnerable situation of the victims and the danger to their lives, health and physical integrity.
Source: ABC