As part of an effort to bolster border security, the Spanish government has delivered multiple shipments of equipment in recent years to reinforce Morocco’s police forces, according to the Iberian news outlet Vozpópuli.
The supplies encompass off-road vehicles, quads, jeeps, boats, and state-of-the-art technology such as 188 thermal camera systems and night vision devices.
The report by Vozpópuli unveiled that Spain had provided Morocco with 65 thermal cameras with positioners, 98 portable thermal camera-viewers, 25-night vision scopes, and various nautical telecommunications equipment.
The same source reported that nearly all the security equipment Spain has provided Morocco in recent years falls under the EU-funded program “Support for Border Management and Migration in Morocco,” an initiative financed through the European Union’s Emergency Trust Fund for Africa.
The source pointed out the contrast between Spain’s multiple shipments to Morocco and the mere 37 units received by Spain’s own southern police forces since 2019.
In this regard, the Spanish Civil Guard Union (AUGC) reacted negatively to the news of security equipment being distributed. They stated that the Civil Guard continues to suffer from a lack of agents, vehicles, and technical materials needed to tackle immigration and drug trafficking, despite significant expenditures.
The Union of the Navarrese People ‘UPN) Deputy Alberto Catalán submitted initiatives in Congress seeking details about recent procurements for the National Police and Civil Guard. A parliamentary response listed, reviewed by Vozpópuli, 28 purchases, with costs detailed for three items: a thermal camera for Huelva (€85,000) and two for CRAIN in Seville and Málaga (€7,062 each).
Most other items, funded by CRAIN or EMPACT credits, had no specified costs and were distributed to various units, added the same source.
It also mentioned that nine FLIR SCOUT III 320 monoculars (€2,001.33 each) were acquired under the Campo de Gibraltar Plan, and a border surveillance system was installed in Melilla for €1,856,631.70.
The source added that since 2018, €470,000 has been allocated for combating drugs, though specific amounts for the Strait of Gibraltar were not detailed.
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