A criminal network accused of “human trafficking” operating between Morocco and Spain has been dismantled in Melilla. Thirteen people directly involved in the network have been arrested, and investigations are continuing into the whereabouts of other members.
Elements of the Unit against Illegal Immigration and Falsification of Documents (UCRIF), affiliated to the Spanish police, have been working on this investigation since March 2024, reports the Iberian press.
Research has pinpointed the locations from which the individuals were working, notably in Melilla and northern Morocco. The network operated between the two countries, using pleasure boats to send Moroccan citizens to the occupied city.
They didn’t stop there, however, as they later sent people to southern Spanish cities such as Almeria and Granada. Spanish police officers tracked the comings and goings of this criminal gang on three separate routes to document their modus operandi.
The results of the investigation made it possible to determine the amount of money demanded from Moroccan migrants in exchange for their transfer to Spanish shores. Migrants were asked to pay large sums of money, between 12,000 and 13,000 euros, the equivalent of over 130,000 dirhams, in order to cross to the other side of the Mediterranean without papers.
Information provided by the Iberian police also indicates that, on average over the year 2024, the members of this network amassed around 550,000 euros and transported up to 45 people using this method.
A group of thirteen people were arrested in the first phase of this case, eleven of whom were in Melilla and two in Malaga. The security forces seized several mobile devices, which will be subjected to analysis to find further elements for the ongoing investigation opened by the Court of First Instance and Instruction number 4 of Melilla.
According to the local police, the criminal gang had a method which varied according to the circumstances, and used both pleasure boats and Zodiac-type inflatable boats, which transported the migrants in small groups to the coast of Cabo de Gata, in Almería.
Some of these inflatable boats were used to supply the pleasure boats with fuel and food. The latter were parked for several days at sea, awaiting favorable conditions to make the journey.
Several people were involved in this organization, including the brains behind the operation, on-site logistics operators, henchmen and boat pilots. According to local police, arrests are expected to follow in the coming days as new elements are uncovered.
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